I Trust You
by serenadreams
Summary: This picks up during the episode "By The Light Of The Moon" But Stefan really does have sex with Katherine in the tomb... hurt and betrayed Elena turns to the only Salvatore brother who has always been there for her. Damon/Elena
1. Chapter 1

Chapter One

Stefan sat watching Katherine as she paraded around the tomb; she was showing off, trying to provoke him. He clenched his teeth. He wasn't going to get caught up in Katherine again… He loved Elena. He was surprised to hear the hint of uncertainty in his inner voice, but he shrugged it off.

Katherine looked at him, flicking her eyes down to his lips seductively. He didn't react.

"It won't work Katherine!"

She rolled her eyes and giggled in a sickly sweet voice. She looked at him intently for a moment.

"Is it the human?" She asked, her distaste slightly cracking her nonchalance.

"Her name is Elena" Stefan glared, trying not to rise to her bait.

Katherine's lips curled into a secretive smile.

"Yes, my darling doppelganger Elena. It was quite a shock to meet her you know; she really does looks exactly like me! Too bad she's no fun, that whole innocent little girl thing gets boring very fast… Don't you think?"

Stefan decided it would be best not to respond. It unnerved him being this close to Katherine after all these years. He really had loved her back then… he shook the thought from his mind.

Katherine was watching him closely. She seemed to sense something and her eyes danced.

"It must be strange looking into my face every day, does it bring back memories?"

She winked and bit her lip, giggling.

Stefan growled deep in his chest, he moved so fast human eyes couldn't have tracked him. Before he knew what he was doing, his hands were around Katherine's throat, his teeth bared. He slammed her against the wall, smirking as she winced.

"Elena is nothing like you. Nothing." He spat.

Katherine looped her arms over Stefan's shoulders and ran her fingers through his hair. She locked her eyes on his and he held her gaze defiantly.

"I don't doubt it" she murmured "Replacements are always a downgrade."

Stefan growled again, but didn't break away.

"I mean, I bet she doesn't do that thing I used to… you know with my…" she leaned forward and whispered in his ear, her breath intoxicating him. She chastely kissed his mouth, clocking his reaction. Stefan's hands loosened around her neck and dropped to her waist. She kissed him again and this time he kissed back. It wasn't like when he kissed Elena, suddenly he needed Katherine; it was animal, instinctual. His eyes darkened as he pulled away. He couldn't do this. He couldn't. Katherine caught his face between her tiny hands.

Stefan looked into those familiar brown eyes and hated himself for loving what he saw. But he did. He loved Katherine, he always had. He loved Elena too, but not like this, he loved Elena because she made him feel worthy, human. Katherine was wild and beautiful and he loved her for all the wrong reasons and yet they felt like all the right reasons. When he was with her he felt strong, powerful and happy. He felt like he could finally embrace what he was, be the wild man within and not recoil from what he saw in the mirror. Katherine wanted him for who he really was. Not the whipped, house-trained version Elena knew.

Stefan threw Katherine to the ground, loving that he didn't have to be careful not to break her. Katherine grinned and pulled his face down to hers. Without quite knowing how, their clothes were off, scattered around the tomb. Stefan's lips met hers and all lingering guilt towards sweet Elena crumbled and turned to dust.

Damon sat on Elena's bed watching as she paced in front of him. Her forehead was creased delicately and her fingers were pulling nervously at her top. It made him anxious to see her so worked up, he wanted to console her, but he didn't know what to say that would make her feel any better.

"We'll get him out Elena, I promise." He finally said. He looked at her with reassuring eyes and smiled slightly when she nodded, slightly mollified.

"I know… I just… this is my fault, if I hadn't gone looking for Klaus you would have been at the tomb to help him." Elena started nibbling on her fingernails, guilt and worry written all over her face.

"Well I didn't have to save your sorry martyr ass, so technically; it's my fault."

Damon shrugged slightly but he knew that there wasn't a shred of regret in his mind for saving her. He would leave his little brother locked in that tomb for a thousand centuries if it meant Elena would be safe. The thought unnerved him.

Elena stopped pacing and looked at him, he had his usual cocky smirk but she could see in his eyes how much he cared, she smiled slightly at his attempt at making her feel better. Sighing in exhaustion and defeat Elena dropped herself into an armchair. She closed her eyes and after a few minutes sleep began to wash over her and she gladly welcomed it.

Damon watched as her breathing slowed and deepened. She looked so vulnerable and small in sleep. Her eyelashes created little shadows across her cheeks bones and her mouth slipped into a slight pout. Damon sat still and just watched her, listening to her heartbeat.

Elena whimpered slightly and shifted her position, her neck falling into an awkward position in the chair. Damon knew he shouldn't but he crossed the room and scooped her up in his arms careful not to wake her. He pulled back the covers on her bed and laid her down, he took off her shoes and tucked her in. She snuggled deeper into the bed and sighed. Damon kissed her lightly on the forehead and disappeared out the window.


	2. Chapter 2

Chapter Two

"Bonnie we have to do something, Stefan is trapped in the tomb with Katherine. We have to get him out!" Elena looked at her best friend beseechingly and Bonnie groaned inwardly cursing Elena's puppy dog eyes.

Bonnie, Elena, Damon and Alaric were gathered in the boarding house living room, they had been there for over two hours discussing the situation. Bonnie finally conceded.

"Ok, I'll do it. But just Stefan, Katherine stays in." She looked pointedly at Damon who raised his hands defensively.

"Hey I'm the one who locked the little bitch in. I want her running around Mystic Falls like I want a stake in the heart!" He smirked at his own joke and Elena rolled her eyes and turned to Bonnie.

"Just Stefan, I promise."

* * *

Elena hurried ahead of the others as she made her way toward the tomb. Damon hadn't wanted her to come but of course she hadn't listened to him. As she made her way down the steps Damon grabbed her arm and glared at her.

"Don't do anything stupid Elena. You stay out of the way and don't get into trouble, understand?"

Elena nodded.

"Good, because if you run into that tomb before we open it I can't go in after you and I doubt Stefan would be able to fight off Katherine for long even when she hasn't eaten in weeks."

Damon knew he was scaring her, but he didn't want to take any chances. His first priority was her safety.

Stefan seemed guarded as he came to the opening, Elena grinned from across the cavern and waved quickly. She noticed that something about Stefan was off; his answering wave had been detached and almost bored. She put it down to his not having eaten in two days and clutched the bottle of pigs' blood in her hand. Damon and Bonnie were setting up the spell in the middle, and Alaric was standing by the tomb entrance with a vervain dart in case Katherine tried to escape.

* * *

Stefan had discussed this with Katherine. He knew that Bonnie would only open the tomb for a couple of seconds and that Alaric and Damon would be ready to stake Katherine should she manage to get out. They had come up with a plan. A way to get them both out without anyone getting hurt… except maybe the teacher.

Bonnie chanted in Latin and clutched Emily's grimoire in her hands. She had failed to do this last time but she pushed on, determined to do it. Blood trickled out of her nose and across her lips. The flames surrounding her suddenly leapt higher.

"It's open! Get him out." Bonnie yelled towards Damon.

He dashed toward the tomb but Stefan beat him to it stepping out and rushing at Alaric. Damon stopped in surprise, momentarily stunned as Stefan sank his teeth into the history teachers' neck. Elena screamed and Damon pried Stefan away. Unnoticed, Katherine slipped out a second before Bonnie collapsed to the ground.

"Stefan calm down, you don't want to do this man." Damon pushed Stefan against the wall and shoved him hard.

"Snap out of it." He growled.

Stefan looked over Damon's shoulder to where Elena was helping Alaric to stand up. He didn't care about the teacher; he had flipped that little switch inside him that turned off the more unpleasant feelings like remorse. But he had to put on a good act. So he bowed his head and muttered something about the hunger and the smell of the human blood. Damon let him go but instinctively put himself between Stefan and Elena who was trying to go towards him.

"Elena stay back. Give me the pigs' blood and go help Bonnie." Damon prayed that just this once she would listen to him and to his surprise she did.

Stefan downed the pigs' blood and after assuring every one he was ok and apologizing to Alaric several times Damon let Elena approach him.

Stefan looked down at her as she wrapped her arms around him. She was sweet and kind but all Stefan saw was a mortal version of Katherine. He groaned internally wondering how long he was going to have to carry on playing the whipped boyfriend. All he wanted was Katherine. Katherine and human blood… Elena smelt so tempting, but he controlled himself and pushed her away. He knew Damon would stake him right there if he bit her.

* * *

Later on everyone had gone there separate ways, no one noticing Katherine's absence. Alaric had gone home to rest as had Bonnie, Damon was back at the boarding house and Stefan and Elena were in her room.

Stefan knew that it was safe to leave now, meet Katherine and get out of town before Damon figured out what he'd done but Elena was kissing his neck and pressing her body against him in a way that made his senses tingle. He figured he might as well take advantage of the moment and he flipped Elena onto her back and kissed her, his hands moving to the zipper in her pants. She wriggled out of them and her panties before fumbling with Stefan's jeans. He helped her and finally free of the clothes he entered her. Elena gasped and pulled his face down to hers. He looked into her eyes and wondered if he'd ever really seen her as anyone other than Katherine. She gripped his shoulders and arched her back; Stefan let himself get lost in the sensations bringing his face down to her neck and kissing it. He could see the blood pumping through her artery as he tipped over the edge.

"Katherine" He moaned and then he bit her.


	3. Chapter 3

Elena froze. She felt Stefan's teeth pierce her skin and tried to pull away. Her mind wheeling at what he'd said.

"Stefan stop." He wouldn't let her go. His teeth fixed at her neck. Elena felt consciousness slipping away as her blood was drawn.

* * *

Elena opened her eyes. She felt a searing pain at her neck… someone was shaking her. She saw that she was in her bed and realized that she was completely naked, the covers drawn up to her chin.

"Elena! Elena, wake up."

She turned her head slightly, ignoring the pain in her neck to see who was trying to wake her. Her eyes met Damon's brilliant blue ones and she frowned slightly, wondering what he was doing here.

"Elena, Stefan's disappeared. You need to wake up."

At the mention of his name it came rushing back. Katherine. He had called her Katherine, and he had bitten her. That explained the pain and wooziness. She turned her attention back to Damon, trying to blink back the tears that were forming in her eyes. Trying to pull back into reality she saw Damon's worried face and his words finally sank in.

"What… What do you mean disappeared?"

Damon looked at the tired girl in front of him and hated that what he was about to say would hurt her.

"I got up this morning and his stuff was gone, his car as well."

Elena nodded. That made sense to her in a weird way, she figured he had felt so guilty after what he had done that he had to get away. She couldn't check the tears now, letting them fall freely down her cheeks.

Damon's brow furrowed slightly and he gently brushed a tear away with his thumb, looking reassuringly into her eyes.

"Hey, I'm sure he's fine… we'll find him I promise."

Elena looked up into those bright blue eyes realizing that Damon thought that Stefan had left involuntarily. She shook her head as she cried.

Damon pulled her into his arms without even thinking, and held her tight against his chest. She winced slightly but he barely noticed.

"He's not coming back." She said into his shoulder, praying that her hair was covering her neck.

"He left. He's not coming back." Her voice broke and the tears fell even harder than before.

She knew that the words were true as they came out of her mouth. Something had happened in that tomb. Something had changed him, she had noticed the reservations in his eyes the minute she saw him, but she had brushed them away just wanting to revel in his being there with her. She silently cursed herself for not paying more attention, asking him what was wrong.

Damon interrupted her inner monologue as he pushed her away and looked at her.

"Elena he wouldn't leave without saying something to you… or me."

Elena just shook her head and sank, sobbing back into his arms. He held her tight as his brain worked overtime trying desperately to figure out what was going on.

He wondered why she was so quick to assume that Stefan had left of his own accord. He knew it made the most sense but he couldn't believe that he would leave Elena. He had always thought that Stefan's love for her was undeniable. When he was around her he was how he used to be with Katherine back in 1864. Loved up, blissed out… whatever cheesy expression you wanted to use, Damon was sure it applied to Stefan and Elena. Now he wasn't so sure.

Damon's eyes darted around the room looking for clues. Maybe they'd had a fight and Stefan was just overreacting. He dismissed the thought just as quickly as it had entered his mind. Elena was too broken up for it to have been something like that. His eyes caught sight of something scarlet on her pillow he frowned and looked closer. He froze as the realization came crashing in around him. He hadn't noticed when he first came into the room but it stank of blood. Elena's blood.

Damon looked at her more closely. She was pale, her skin almost translucent. She was clinging to his arms for support as if sitting up in bed was difficult. She had the sheets held under her arms and her hair was pulled over to one side of her face. He tried to cool the rage bubbling up inside him. He took a deep breath.

"Elena, move your hair." He said very calmly, controlling any reactions that might show on his face. Elena looked scared.

"What?"

Damon reached forward and carefully scooped her hair to the other side of her head. He bit his cheeks to stop himself reacting to what he saw. He knew if he let her see him lose it she would be even more frightened. Right now he just had to help her, focus on that; help Elena. He turned his attention back to her neck; the skin was covered in huge gashes where teeth had ripped through it. Dried blood was smeared down her collarbone and clumps of her hair were stuck together.

"Oh Elena" he choked out.

Elena began to cry hysterically as Damon looked at her neck. She didn't know what to say; she just felt Stefan's betrayal tearing through her heart.

"He bit you." It wasn't really a question, more a statement of fact. As Elena nodded miserably he pulled her back into his arms and held her, letting her cry.

"He called me Katherine" Elena managed to choke out between sobs, and then she felt blackness surrounding her.

Damon felt her body go limp in his arms and took a deep breath, considering his options. Elena needed help; she had lost too much blood. He could take her to the ER but then there would be questions asked. Jenna and Jeremy were sleeping just down the hall so here wasn't an option. He imagined how Jenna would panic if she found Elena's bed empty and covered in blood in the morning. Coming to a decision he grabbed Elena's dressing gown from the back of the door and wrapped it around her. He picked her up and gently placed her on the armchair. Then he moved quickly, replacing the bloody pillowcase, making her bed neatly and skillfully forging a note in Elena's handwriting.

_Caroline in crisis! Went out early, didn't want to wake you._

_E x_

He left the note on her pillow, and then scooped Elena back into his arms and, careful not to jostle her jumped out of the window, into the night.

**Sorry it's such a short chapter... more of a filler really but I am in the process of writing a really long chapter 4 :) LOTS of delena haha! Anyway I hope you guys enjoy... read review etc ;) x**


	4. Chapter 4

Chapter 4

Damon ran with supernatural speed to the boarding house, not slowing down until he had deposited an unconscious Elena on the long old fashioned sofa in the sitting room. He raced upstairs and reappeared holding a first aid kit and a damp flannel.

Kneeling down beside the sleeping girl he gently cleaned her wound and secured a bandage neatly around her neck. He could hear that her heartbeat was too slow; an effect of the blood loss, and wondered if he should give her some of his own blood. He decided against it, Stefan hadn't taken enough to kill her and although it was going to be hard on her system Damon was sure she would be able to heal naturally.

Confident that Elena was not actually at deaths' door Damon sank onto the couch next to her and turned his mind to the real issue; Stefan. Could he really have changed his allegiances after just 3 days with Katherine? Damon knew how much his brother had loved her all those years ago but surely Elena meant more to him than that? She couldn't have just been Katherine's fill-in until she reappeared to sweet talk him into some stupid, misguided plan. Admittedly when Damon had first laid eyes on Elena that had been his very thought… a distraction until the real one showed up. But in only a few weeks around her he had realized how good she was, and that realization had shed light on Katherine's cruelty and cold heartedness. Elena was not Katherine and Damon hadn't ever wanted her too be. But had Stefan?

He remembered what Elena had said.

"_He called me Katherine"_

His heart sank as he imagined Elena's shock and hurt. She had been devastated when she had found out the similarities between the two of them. Damon remembered how in Georgia she had tormented herself with the thought that she was nothing more than some sick recreation of the past for Stefan. Her fear had materialized in the cruelest of ways.

Elena whimpered and her eyelids fluttered slightly, Damon realized she was dreaming.

"No. No… please stop." Elena was mumbling, her face distressed "Stefan no, not Katherine. Stefan you're hurting me, please…"

With a scream Elena's eyes flew open and in a second Damon had her on his lap, curled against his chest. She was shaking and tears began to track there way down her cheeks again.

"Elena, it's ok. You're ok." Damon crooned into her hair "He won't hurt you again, it's all going to be alright."

Elena clung to him for a few minutes before she took a deep breath and pushed herself off his lap and into an upright position on the sofa.

She had so many questions but she wasn't sure she wanted to hear the answers, or if Damon would even know, Elena figured she couldn't really feel any worse.

"Where do you think he's gone?"

Damon looked at her quickly, he knew he had to tell her the truth however much it hurt. He couldn't lie to her.

"I had a thought that when he…" Damon paused watching Elena's face carefully. "…Bit Alaric, it could have been a distraction."

Elena looked confused.

"We were all so focused on restraining him and helping Ric… Katherine would have had plenty of time to slip out. We wouldn't have noticed."

"But why? Why would he do this? He knows what Katherine's like… he doesn't love her."

Damon felt so much anger towards his little brother when he saw the look on Elena's face that for the first time in his life, he was sure he could drive a stake through his heart without batting an eye.

"Katherine can be persuasive. "

"So what do you think… that they ran away together? Eloped?" The idea was so ridiculous that had the situation been less heartbreaking she would have laughed.

"If he did manage to get Katherine out of the tomb, they would have wanted to get as far away from here as possible. She always has a plan, whatever the situation."

Damon pulled out his phone and dialed Caroline.

"Who are you calling… it's the middle of the night!"

He arched his eyebrow at her in such a typically Damon-ish way that she almost smiled.

"It's eight o'clock in the morning. And I'm calling… Caroline I need you to do something for me."

Damon quickly filled her in and sent her down to the tomb to look for Katherine with strict instructions not to do anything stupid, and to come straight to the boarding house afterwards. He rolled his eyes and Elena heard Caroline's sleepy complaints on the other end of the line.

"Listen Blondie, I can't go cos I'm with Elena. You need to get your lazy ass out of bed and make sure we don't have a sadistic vampire bitch on the loose. Am I clear?"

It seemed he was. He hung up the phone and poured himself a generous glass of scotch.

* * *

A few hours later Caroline, Bonnie and Alaric were gathered in the boarding house. Damon had filled everyone in and Elena was sitting snuggled between Caroline and Bonnie with a huge mug of hot chocolate.

"So he bit me to create a diversion?" Alaric asked indignantly

"It makes the most sense, yes." Damon answered.

There was an uncomfortable silence, which of course was broken by Caroline.

"Guys, this is Stefan we're talking about. He would never do something like this… I'm sure there's a reasonable explanation."

Bonnie rolled her eyes.

"For God's sake Caroline, he's a vampire. We can't put anything passed him."

"Oh wow thank you so much Bonnie. You know it was pretty stressful getting murdered and waking up with fangs but the faith my best friend has in vampires makes it all better."

"Oh that's right, now you're a insecure, neurotic, control freak on crack! Totally forgot about that."

"Would you two save your teenage bitch fight until later, we have grown up issues to deal with." Damon scowled at the two girls, he couldn't be bothered with Caroline's crap right now. Besides, Elena looked distinctly uncomfortable stuck in the middle.

Alaric saw Caroline's mutinous face and spoke up before someone got hurt.

"Let's focus on what we know. If Katherine is still in the tomb and was just ignoring Caroline then…"

"No, she would have showed herself. Despite everything she's sociable… And besides, she wouldn't miss a chance to scare Caroline."

Elena spoke for the first time and everyone stared at her.

"She's right. Katherine isn't in the tomb." The words were bitter in Damon's mouth. God he had hoped they were rid of the bitch.

"So that just leaves the question, why would Stefan help her?" Alaric murmured almost to himself.

"Well, Stefan is usually either wallowing in guilt or desperately in love with people with Elena's face. So I'm guessing he's fallen back in love with her and run off to live happily ever after for all eternity." Caroline said brightly,

Bonnie glared at her.

"One word Caroline. Tact."

Bonnie put her arm around Elena supportively. Caroline grimaced.

"Sorry sweetie… You know me, my mouth just won't stay shut!"

Elena gave her a weak smile. She could feel Damon's eyes on her and glanced up, momentarily floored by the concern on his face. He quickly looked away and poured himself more scotch.

"So what we all need to know is; what do we do?" Bonnie said.

Damon shrugged,

"We don't do anything, if they show up, we deal with it. There's no point looking for trouble, it'll inevitably find us anyway. "

The general consensus was that Damon was right, if a bit pessimistic, and Alaric and Bonnie got up to leave. Bonnie hugged Elena and gave her a sympathetic smile, Alaric told Damon to call him at the first sign of trouble and they both slipped out. Caroline glared at Damon, offered Elena a ride home, which she refused, and followed Bonnie out the door.

Elena padded into the kitchen and made herself another cup of hot chocolate. When she was done she grabbed a blanket and curled up on the sofa.

"Want to watch a movie?" Elena asked, twisting around to look at Damon.

He smiled and sat down next to her. He could see that she didn't want to be alone and didn't blame her.

"Sure but I am not watching vampires who sparkle and can't have sex."

Elena laughed and grabbed the remote.

"Deal."

Elena liked that Damon could make her laugh even in the darkest of times. He had a knack of taking her mind of whatever was bothering her; even just for a second it was a relief. She tentatively lent her head on his shoulder and felt instantly safer.

However bad things got, she had confidence in Damon. A complete and undying confidence.

**Wow two updates today! I was feeling so inspired for some reason... Anyway hope you enjoy :)**


	5. Chapter 5

**Chapter 5**

Damon heard Elena's car pull up in the driveway, followed by her light footsteps approaching the door. She had spent almost every evening at the boarding house since the whole Stefan/Katherine thing last week. Truth be told Damon was worried about her. She was distancing herself from her friends and spending more and more time holed up with a 164-year-old vampire, it wasn't natural. Elena had said that everyone else treated her like an invalid but he could see there was something else. She seemed scared.

Damon opened the door and greeted her with a smirk.

"What's it going to be tonight? The Notebook, Dear John, Titanic?"

"Yeah, yeah, you know you love it!"

Elena grinned and pushed passed him. She wasn't sure why, but this was the only place that made her feel safe. She knew Damon wouldn't let anything hurt her, and that knowledge let her relax, have fun. They spent most of their time watching movies or Damon would tell her stories of the world, the places he's been and things he's seen. It was like having your very own walking encyclopedia.

Damon walked into the kitchen and put a bag of blood in the microwave. Elena grimaced and hoisted herself up onto the counter. She swung her legs and watched him get out the hot chocolate stuff.

"How was school?"

Elena shrugged.

"It's school. It pretty much sucked!"

Damon laughed and handed her a mug of cocoa, holding a glass of blood himself.

"Jeremy says call him by the way." Elena added.

"Like that's going to happen!"

Elena rolled her eyes.

"He said it was important."

Damon sighed and headed into the sitting room.

"Ok, what are we watching?"

They argued over movies for a few minutes before settling on an action film with Brad Pitt, they figured it was win win.

Elena sat down on the sofa and complained loudly when Damon sat at the other end putting his feet in her lap. He just smirked and drank his blood.

* * *

Elena couldn't focus on the movie; her thoughts seemed to completely take her over. Something had been bothering her lately, and she wasn't sure what it meant. When Stefan left with Katherine the truth is that she had felt betrayed and scared, but not heartbroken. She knew she and Stefan had been growing apart even before he was shut in the tomb. He was almost overbearing, always treating her like a china doll that could break at any second. Elena knew that she had loved him, but she didn't know if she was _in_ love with him. Especially now she realized it all could have been fake; Stefan had assured her that he didn't see her as Katherine but she knew that it wasn't entirely true. And that made her angry, not sad or hurt, really really angry.

She glanced at Damon and bit her lip.

"Can I ask you a question?" She asked

Damon flicked his eyes to hers.

"Sure."

Elena took a deep breath; suddenly not sure she wanted to know the answer.

"Elena, You ok?"

"I um… Yeah I'm fine, I just… Don't be angry with me ok?"

Damon nodded.

"When you look at me, do you ever see Katherine? Even just for a second? "

Damon stared at her a second before moving closer to her and turning her chin to look at him.

"Elena you are not Katherine. I know who you are and you're a thousand times better than her, in every way."

Elena smiled slightly and said.

"I know I'm not like her character wise… but Damon we could be twins! Haven't you ever seen my face and imagined I was her or…"

Elena broke off and looked down.

"Or wished I was."

Damon was shaking his head before she had even finished speaking.

"Elena when I first saw you, I was struck by how much you looked like her, of course I thought of her then. But I got to know you and I would never trade that. She made my life miserable and you make it enjoyable, I will never wish you were her, ever. You are Elena and if anything I look at Katherine's face and see you."

Elena looked up in wonder, tears forming in her eyes. She threw her arms around his neck.

"Thank you." She murmured.

* * *

Elena drove home at 10 and Damon poured himself some bourbon and called Jeremy.

"What's so important Gilbert?"

"Hi Damon, nice to talk to you too."

"Yeah, yeah, just get to the point."

"I'm worried about Elena."

Damon sighed and sat down.

"Yeah well, who isn't?"

He could almost hear Jeremy roll his eyes on the other end of the line.

"No I'm serious. I wouldn't have noticed anything if Jenna hadn't asked about it…"

Damon was alert now, ready to race out the door at the mention of danger.

"What's going on?"

"Well Jenna thinks she isn't eating."

That took Damon completely by surprise.

"What?"

"Well Jenna noticed that she hasn't really been eating at home and asked if she had been at school. Then I realized that I hadn't seen her at lunch for ages and I started getting worried. I figured she could be eating at yours?

Damon frowned.

"No, she has hot chocolate every night but that's pretty much it."

Jeremy sighed.

"I'm sure it's nothing too serious but I thought I should let you know."

Damon was lost in thought for a second before saying quickly

"Yeah thanks, I'll talk to her."

He hung up and lent back wondering what to do. Of all the kinds of danger Damon had been prepared to face for Elena, he hadn't ever thought he'd have to protect her from herself.

* * *

Elena went straight up to her room when she got in. She went into the bathroom to change and wash and walked out drying her face with a towel she hung it up on the back of the door, turned around and screamed.

"Jesus Damon, are you trying to kill me?"

Damon was sitting on her bed, watching her quietly, taking in her appearance; he was surprised he hadn't noticed how thin she was getting.

"Damon?"

"Um, yeah sorry."

Elena frowned.

"Is everything ok?"

Damon sighed and looked at her, she looked worried about _him. _He shook his head.

"I don't know. You tell me."

"What do you mean?"

"I called Jeremy. He and Jenna think you're anorexic."

Elena stared at him for a second before completely cracking up. Damon glared at her, she wasn't taking this seriously at all.

"They what?" She choked out between snickers.

"Elena, this is serious. I know you're upset about Stefan and Katherine and it's understandable, but you need to eat."

Elena saw that he looked really worried. She rolled her eyes and sat down next to him.

"I haven't been doing the whole family meal thing recently. Jeremy and I haven't been getting on that great and every time I see Jenna I have to lie to her. That's all."

"And at school?"

Elena sighed.

"Bonnie and Caroline have been getting on my nerves. They're always watching what they say, not wanting to upset me. It's driving me nuts. I go to the grill for lunch. I like the peace, plus the food tastes way better."

Damon looked at her and felt relief flood through him.

"Your sure that's it? You're ok?"

Elena rolled her eyes at him.

"Damon you know me, I eat like a man!"

He grinned and slung his arm over her shoulder.

"Thank god. You had me worried there for a minute Kitten."

She scowled and shoved him.

"Don't call me Kitten."

Damon grinned and ruffled her hair.

"Sleep tight, call me if you need anything ok."

Elena nodded as he disappeared out of the window. She was still snickering at the whole anorexic thing when she heard a voice behind her.

"What a touching moment, it's almost too bad he'll never see you again."

Elena whirled around.

"Katherine."

**Ok weird chapter... i just found out my best friend has anorexia so I decided to put it in the story... I don't really no why! Anyway, sorry about the cliffy but the next chapter is going to be epic :)**


	6. Chapter 6

**Chapter 6**

Elena opened her eyes slowly, trying to adjust to her dark surroundings. Her head hurt and she felt a shooting pain in her arm. Sitting up she ran her hands along the ground and realized she was on a slightly dirty and very cold stone floor. She gave herself a quick once over to see how hurt she was, there was a large bump on her head and a wound in her arm was bleeding heavily. Other than that she seemed to be ok.

Elena tried desperately to remember what had happened, she knew that Katherine had been in her room. She'd said something about never seeing Damon again and after that everything was blurry. Cautiously she got to her feet and stumbled forward on the rough surface, banging into a wall. Cursing under her breath she felt up with her fingers and managed to stand up.

"Hello?" Elena called, her voice shaking.

The idea that she was trapped in some sort of dark cave was starting to panic her and she felt her breath quickening,

"Hello?" She screamed.

* * *

Bonnie lay on her bed her head buried in Emily's old grimoire. She was trying to figure out a new spell and it was making her feel sick. She sighed and rolled over as her phone rang.

"Hello? Oh hey Jeremy what's up?"

Bonnie sat up looking confused.

"Um no she didn't stay here… have you tried Caroline?"

She frowned as she listened to the voice on the other end of the line.

"And you're sure she didn't sleep at home."

She grimaced

"I hate to say this but what about Damon?"

"Yeah ok… well let me no when you find her. Bye Jer."

Bonnie hung up and sat thinking for a second before grabbing her coat and keys and rushing out the door.

Damon woke up with a start when he heard banging on the boarding house door. Silently cursing himself for not hearing someone approach, he pulled on a bathrobe and dashed downstairs. He opened the door and frowned when he saw Bonnie.

"What do you want Sabrina?"

Bonnie scowled at him.

"Trust me, I really wish I didn't have to ask this but… Is Elena here?"

Damon looked confused.

"What… Do you mean did she stay the night?"

Bonnie nodded trying to keep the distain off her face.

"No she didn't, she was in her room, I talked to her at around eleven."

Bonnie looked slightly relieved and a little bit scared. Damon watched her reaction and narrowed his eyes.

"Is Elena ok?"

"Um… Yeah I'm sure she's fine, don't worry about it."

Bonnie turned to leave but Damon grabbed her arm, pulling her around to face him. Bonnie glared.

"What's going on Bonnie?"

She sighed

"Jeremy's worried because Elena was out all night. He called Caroline and me but she didn't stay with either one of us. I figured you were the only other option."

Damon tried to hide the panic on his face.

"I was in her room last night, she was fine."

"Well Jeremy got in at eleven thirty and Elena was MIA."

Damon pulled out his phone and pressed speed dial.

"Straight to voice mail."

Bonnie was beginning to look just as worried as Damon.

"What are we going to do?" She asked.

Damon waved her inside and grabbed a bottle of scotch.

"Can you do that locater spell thingy?"

Bonnie nodded.

"Yeah I can try but I can't guarantee it will be accurate. My powers are weak right now."

"Ok well it's worth a try. What do you need?"

Bonnie looked around before sitting down in the middle of the living room floor.

"A map and a knife."

Damon disappeared and a few seconds later handed the items to Bonnie.

"Don't you need Gilbert blood?"

"No, but I do need something that belongs to Elena… you got anything?"

His eyes darted around the room. He saw her Elena's sweatshirt hanging over the arm of the sofa and grabbed it, throwing it to Bonnie.

She cut her hand letting the blood drip onto the map, keeping a tight hold on the sweatshirt she closed her eyes and concentrated, whispering in Latin.

The blood moved agonizingly slowly before stopping completely a couple of centimeters from where it started.

Bonnie opened her eyes and stared at the map in shock.

"What is it? Bonnie where is she?"

She looked up at him, confusion and fear written all over her face.

"She's in the tomb.

* * *

"Hello Elena"

Elena heard the voice, a perfect mimic of her own and squinted into the darkness.

"Katherine?" she asked

"Good guess."

"Where am I? I can't see anything!"

Katherine's voice was sickly and dripping with sarcasm when she answered.

"I'm so sorry Elena, I forgot you couldn't see in the dark. How rude of me."

A flame shot up and lit the surroundings. Katherine had ignited a torch that was clasped to the wall. Elena looked around her and realized with a chill where she was.

"We're in the tomb."

Katherine rolled her eyes.

"Well done Elena. Two plus two!"

Elena looked at the vampire in front of her.

"But you can't get out of here, you're stuck. I'm human I can leave."

"When the tomb is completely empty, the spell deactivates. I can walk out of here just fine. You on the other hand…" Katherine smirked

Elena looked at the entrance and made a dash for it. She knew she didn't have a chance against Katherine. She was nearly half a millennium old and Elena was a seventeen-year-old hundred and ten pound human girl, but her survival instincts kicked in and she ignored the logic in her head.

Katherine moved so fast Elena couldn't see her. She just felt herself flying through the air and smacking into the wall behind her. She groaned and looked at her hand realizing it was broken. Blood was pouring from her head and she began to feel dizzy.

Katherine lent over her and smiled.

"Poor little Elena, you really are breakable aren't you."

"Why are you doing this?" Elena croaked

"Why? Because they're mine Elena, no one waltzes in and takes something that belongs to me. No one." She said and kicked Elena in the ribs forcing her to double over as she heard a crack.

Elena felt tears streaming down her face, she clutched at her torso trying to think through the pain.

"What did I take that's yours?"

Katherine rolled her eyes and spoke as if she were talking to a toddler.

"The Salvatore brothers, you silly little girl."

Elena shook her head trying to clear her mind.

"I don't understand, you have Stefan, he chose you."

"Oh Stefan's all fine and dandy. He's probably eating some French sorority girl as we speak. But I want both of them Elena, they're mine." She said smirking.

* * *

Damon and Bonnie drove to Caroline's house to pick her up, much to Damon's annoyance, before getting to Alaric's.

Damon was out the car as soon as it stopped and knocking on his door within seconds.

"Come on Ric, Open up."

Alaric sleepily opened the door and rolled his eyes when he saw Damon.

"What do you want?"

"Elena's in the tomb, we don't know how or why and we might need some of your vervain dart things." Bonnie said quickly, before Damon could say something rude.

Alaric looked shocked.

"What do you mean Elena's in the tomb?"

Damon groaned.

"We mean, get your ass in the car right now."

When everyone was in Damon drove towards the tomb, breaking the speed limit five times over.

* * *

"Damon would never go back to you, he hates you."

Katherine's eyes darkened and her mouth hardened in rage. She picked Elena up and threw her across the room. Elena's scream filled the tomb as she hit the wall.

"Please stop." She whimpered, curling up in a ball, barely able to move.

Katherine knelt down next to her.

"Oh it will stop Elena I promise. Once I kill you all the pain will go away."

Katherine was talking in an almost sing song voice and it made Elena's skin crawl.

"Please don't." She begged

Katherine was talking but it wasn't directed at anyone she was babbling away almost to herself. Elena wondered if she'd gone mad.

"Once I kill her, Damon will have no one to turn to but me. He'll come running back and Stefan, Damon and I will be together again. How it should be."

Elena was sobbing; the pain was unbearable.

Katherine pulled a large knife out of her boot and lifted Elena's chin gently with her fingers. She smiled and raised the knife, Elena's face crumpled in fear and her eyes were fixed imploringly on Katherine. She wondered whether it was going to be quick, she wondered what she should be thinking, what her last thought should be. To her surprise she thought of Damon, she imagined his face and closed her eyes, waiting to die.

Katherine hadn't moved. Her arm was raised ready to strike but her face was frozen in shock.

"I can't do it." Katherine looked like she couldn't believe what she was saying.

"I can't kill you. You're my flesh and blood. I can't kill you."

Elena opened her eyes and stared at the terrifying version of her.

Katherine was still staring at her but she lowered the knife.

"Dammit. I did not see this coming."

Katherine turned and suddenly disappeared. Elena felt her body go limp from pain and she collapsed completely.

* * *

Damon took the stairs four at a time as he ran down towards the tomb. He saw a flash of someone passing him but didn't care, it was a vampire; the others could take care of it. He had to find Elena.

He reached the tomb entrance and hesitated; if he went in he couldn't get out. He heard a weak cry of pain from inside and flashed forward instantly. He didn't care if he could get out or not. Elena was in pain.

He saw her immediately, she was curled up in a corner, blood pooling around her from various wounds. Her eyes were closed and her cheeks were streaked with tears. She was moaning quietly to herself.

"Elena!"

He was by her side in a second, cradling her in his arms.

"Elena, Elena, come on kitten open your eyes."

Elena turned her head slightly and winced in pain.

"Don't call me kitten." she murmured

Damon felt a tear run down his face and he pressed his forehead into her hair.

"Oh god Elena, I'm so sorry. I'm so sorry."

Elena reached up with her unharmed arm and touched his face.

"I thought of you." She whispered.

"What?"

Elena smiled weakly.

"You were my last thought. When I was going to die, you were my last thought."

**Hope you liked it :)**


	7. Chapter 7

**Chapter 7**

"You were my last thought. When I was going to die, you were my last thought."

Damon gazed at her in shock; she was so beautiful, even covered with blood and tears. He opened his mouth to reply but they were interrupted by Bonnie and Alaric running up to them.

"Is she ok?" Alaric asked

Elena's eyes were fixed on Damon's face, she could feel herself fading; the trauma to her head was severe. She wondered vaguely if she was in fact going to die after all. If she was, she was glad Damon's face was the last thing she'd see.

"Bonnie she's fading fast, can't you do something?" Damon's voice was frantic as he watched Elena's eyes close. He could still hear her heart beating but it was weak.

Bonnie quickly crouched down beside them and placed her hands on Elena's chest. Her eyes flew open.

"Damon she's dying… there's nothing I can do, she's dying." Bonnie's voice broke and she clutched her best friend's hand, tears creeping down her cheeks.

If Damon's heart could beat, it would have frozen. If she died, she died. There was no coming back; she didn't have any blood in her system.

Blood. Damon's movements were fast as he bit down on his wrist and held it to Elena's lips.

"Damon, she could turn." Alaric said. Damon ignored him.

"Come on Elena." Damon's blood trickled into her mouth and he shut out Bonnie's sobs and Alaric's nervous teeth grinding, focusing on her face.

"Please Elena, I can't lose you. Come on!" Damon's voice broke and he buried his face in her hair. He heard her heart rate pick up and slowly settle into a normal rhythm but he didn't move he just let the relief flood through him.

"Damon?" Elena's voice was cracked and weak.

Damon lifted his head and looked into her eyes.

"I'm here." He held her tighter.

"Is she a vampire?" Alaric asked, feeling stupid.

Bonnie's eyes were wide as she touched Elena's face.

"No, she's human." Bonnie's smile was so big that it hurt.

Elena frowned as she looked around at them.

"What do you mean am I a vampire?"

"I had to give you my blood. You would have died…"

She nodded, understanding.

"Thank you"

Alaric looked nervous about something and his gaze shifted around the tomb.

"Elena who did this to you?" he asked

"Katherine, but she left just before you got here."

Damon moved slightly and looked up at Alaric.

"Can you get her home? Make sure she's ok."

Alaric nodded and bent down to pick Elena up. She looked startled.

"Damon why can't you take me?"

He looked down and it was Bonnie who answered.

"We're in the tomb, that's why Caroline isn't here. She's waiting outside but Damon… Can't leave."

Elena shook her head, a smile spreading across her lips.

"Once the tomb has been completely empty for a while the spell deactivates. A witch has to recast it, how do you think Katherine got out? You and Caroline can leave just fine!"

Caroline must have been listening to the entire conversation because she suddenly appeared at Elena's side.

"Hey Lena, how are you feeling?"

"Like I want to get out of this disgusting place and go home."

Damon smiled and picked her up, Caroline looked at her distastefully.

"Yeah, you need a shower. I haven't seen you look this bad since that concert we went to where you got hammered and threw up on yourself."

Damon, Alaric and Bonnie rolled their eyes simultaneously and Elena grimaced at the memory.

* * *

Damon carried her to the car and laid her down in the backseat, Bonnie and Caroline squeezed in next to her and they drove away.

The car pulled up outside Elena's house and she say up looking confused.

"What are we going _here_?"

Damon looked around.

"You said you wanted to go home!"

Elena frowned.

"Oh… Well can we go to the boarding house please?"

Damon looked surprised but nodded, Alaric got out and mumbled something about saying hi to Jenna, and Bonnie asked if they could drop her at her house.

* * *

When they finally arrived out the boarding house Damon helped Elena out of the car and guided her inside. He got her upstairs and gave her a towel and some of his clean clothes.

"Do you want to clean up?"

She nodded and headed into the bathroom, she had a quick shower and put on the sweatpants and shirt Damon had given her, they swamped her small frame but she didn't care. Feeling tired she opened the door and stumbled slightly, Damon caught her and tucked her into his bed.

Her eyes were drooping sleepily but her heartbeat was strong. He sat next to her and smiled as she looked at him.

He was so beautiful, Elena thought, and he loved her. When he had told her in her room he had tried to compel her to forget. She hadn't told him that as soon as she got in that night, she drank vervain tea. She hadn't been compelled, she remembered everything and at first it had scared her. She wasn't sure what to do with his feelings, let alone her own which she felt growing everyday. But now, looking into Damon's concerned eyes it felt so right. He was always there, helping her, comforting her, loving her. It was more than could be said for Stefan, or anyone else in her life for that matter. He was her rock and… she took a deep breath.

"I love you." She whispered,

Damon froze, he had dreamt about her saying those words to him so many times, his heart felt like it was going to burst. But it wasn't possible, she didn't love him, she loved Stefan. He tried not to set himself up for heartbreak and said with a small smile

"You hit your head pretty hard Elena."

She shook her head and rolled her eyes.

"No Damon, I mean it. I love you, and I think I've known for a while… since even before Stefan left, but… I was scared."

Damon felt shell-shocked. He just stared at her.

Elena hoisted herself up into a sitting position, wincing slightly, and reached out and touched his face.

"I love you Damon." She repeated.

He caught her hand in his and held it tightly. He still couldn't believe his ears; she loved him. Elena loved him. He felt a smile creep across his face.

"I love you too."

Elena grinned.

"God I love you Elena, I love you so much it hurts."

She scooted closer to him and reached up, pressing her lips to his. He was still for a second before he kissed back, his lips molding to hers. Her arms were wrapped around his neck and his hands were in her hair. Elena thought she was going to melt, every touch and every movement sent shivers down her spine. He kissed down her jaw and across her neck before claiming her lips again. She moaned in pleasure and clutched at his shirt, Damon kissed every inch of her face murmuring between kisses

"I love you."

Elena smiled, she felt so good. For the first time in years she felt carefree and amazing and happy. So happy.

Damon couldn't believe what was happening, he had imagined this so many times, but it was a thousand times better. She was delicious and soft and his heart felt like it had swollen to the side of a beach ball. He hadn't thought he could feel this much love for anything, but right there in that moment, with Elena in his arms, he felt so completely happy he could barely believe it.

They broke apart and just looked at each other.

"You should get some sleep." Damon murmured

Elena nodded and curled up beside him.

"Will you be here when I wake up?"

He wrapped his arms around her and kissed her hair.

"I'll be right here, I promise."

With that, Elena let sleep claim her, contented in the knowledge that she and Damon were… Elena and Damon.

**Sorry I kept you waiting so long for the first kiss... hope it was worth it ;)**


	8. Chapter 8

**Chapter 8**

* * *

Elena woke up slowly, her eyes refusing to open. She could feel arms around her and a gentle snoring in her ear, she stifled a giggle and nuzzled into something warm next to her. Opening her eyes she saw that she was curled up in Damon's arms, her face pressed into his chest. His head was buried in her hair and his breath was tickling her ear.

She felt so safe and warm just listening to Damon sleep that she wished they could freeze time and stay like this forever. She looked at his face and wondered how she could have taken so long to realize how she felt about him. He made her laugh and let her live, he made her happy in a way that Stefan had never done.

Damon opened his eyes sleepily and looked at Elena.

"You're staring at me."

She rolled her eyes.

"You look all innocent when you sleep." She smiled

Damon smirked and rolled them over so he was on top of her, gazing into her eyes.

"Well you should know I'm anything but innocent." He said as he kissed her

Elena giggled and lost herself in the kiss, shivering in pleasure as his hands moved down her neck and across her shoulders. He ran a hand down her arm and she flinched slightly.

Damon pulled away and looked at her carefully.

"Does your arm hurt?"

Elena shrugged it off, reaching up to kiss him but he pulled away again. He gently ran a hand down her arm and she visibly flinched this time. She looked into his concerned eyes and smiled.

"It's nothing, really. Just bruises from Katherine."

Damon nodded and said, almost to himself.

"Blood heals wounds not bruises… show me."

Elena sighed, seeing that there was no reasoning with him, and unbuttoned her shirt to expose her arm. She gasped slightly at what she saw. There were large purple smudges all over her body, and dark fingerprints on her arms.

"Elena." Damon whispered

"I'm fine Damon, really don't worry."

He grabbed her face with his hands and looked at her intensely.

"I won't let anything else hurt you. I promise."

Elena smiled as she looked up at him.

"I know you won't. I trust you."

Her stomach growled, breaking the tender moment and they both laughed.

"Let's get some food in ya Kitten!"

* * *

Katherine paced back and forth in her hotel room, she didn't understand what had happened; she had choked. She had looked down into a perfect copy of her own face and she had been unable to kill. She cursed and kicked a table into the wall, she felt a flicker of pain as she moved and frowned. Carefully removing her shirt she stared aghast at the bruises covering her body.

"What the…?"

* * *

Alaric knocked on the boarding house door; he looked up in surprise when Elena opened it.

"Elena? What are you doing here?"

Elena scrambled for an excuse, realizing that she was wearing Damon's clothes.

"I…"

She was rescued as Damon sauntered over

"She had passed out by the time we got here, I let her crash in the spare room."

Alaric nodded

"Anyway, what are you doing here?" Damon asked

"We need to figure out what to do about Katherine."

Damon walked into the sitting room and poured himself a glass of scotch.

"It's ten thirty in the morning!" Alaric said looking at him disapprovingly

Elena rolled her eyes.

"Alcohol doesn't effect vampires like humans… if it did he'd be dead in a ditch by now." She said cheerfully.

Damon glared at her and she shrugged, a small smile playing at her lips. Damon sat down and she went to sit next to him, resting her head on his shoulder. He curled an arm around her waist and winked at her.

Alaric watched the two of them curiously, he knew that Damon cared about Elena, that much had been obvious last night but it had never occurred to her that she might return the feelings. He had always thought that Elena just stuck around Damon for the protection… but the way she was looking at him made Alaric not so sure.

"Katherine…" he said trying to get their attention.

Damon looked up

"Right… well first we need to find out what she wants. I mean she's got Stefan already so…"

Elena scowled.

"She wants you." She said, her eyes on the floor.

Both Alaric and Damon turned to stare at her.

"She wants Damon and Stefan just like in 1864. She wants you all to be a family."

Damon snorted.

"Well she's not getting me, so the bitch can get the fuck out of my town."

Alaric rolled his eyes.

"Somehow I think it's going to take more than that to persuade her to leave." He said sarcastically.

Elena was still looking troubled, it was her own worst fear that Damon would go running back to Katherine. She couldn't lose him as well; he was her rock. But she knew the pull Katherine had had on him over the years, and the thought worried her. It was why she hadn't said anything about Katherine not being able to kill her. She was afraid he would want to fall in love with Katherine all over again if there was a chance she had her humanity. If there was a chance that he could be with the girl he had loved when he was still human.

"Hey…" Damon tipped her chin with his finger and looked into her eyes.

"I'm not going back to Katherine." He murmured, as if reading her mind.

"You can trust me Lena." She nodded and gave him a small smile

"Besides, I hate that bitch." Damon added with a dark look.

Alaric looked on nervously, he wondered how Elena could bear to let a vampire touch her, the very thought made him shiver. He cleared his throat.

"So… what are we going to do?"

"We see Katherine, we stake her. Simple." Damon said fixing Alaric with steady eyes

* * *

Katherine sat on her bed. For the first time in hundreds of years she had no idea what to do. She had wanted to kill the little human who had dared to steal her boys away from her. But instead she had felt connected to her emotionally, and judging by the bruises covering her body, physically. She knew it wasn't a spell, they were connected threw their blood. She could almost feel Elena's emotions…

That made her snarl in rage. She didn't want to feel anything. She had gotten rid of that, years ago. Furious at Elena, Damon, Stefan and most of all herself, Katherine tore the room apart, scratching a clawing at everything in sight.

She gasped in pain as broken piece of a table leg jabbed into her arm. Scowling, she yanked it out and let the large wound heal. She froze, as a realization hit her, she had Elena's bruises from last night… That should mean that Elena would feel this. Elena would feel her pain. Katherine smiled at the thought. And grabbed a silver knife from the kitchen. She plunged it into her stomach, making sure she missed any vital organs; she didn't want the girl to die. She just wanted her to hurt.

* * *

Alaric got up to leave and looked at Elena.

"Do you want me to drive you home?"

Elena thought about it for a second before shaking her head.

"It's ok, Damon will take me."

Damon smirked at the double meaning in her words and she smacked his arm.

Damon was just closing the door when Elena gasped in pain, clutching her arm. He was by her side in a second, and had her in his arms and on the sofa before she could blink. He put pressure on the wound with his hand, Alaric ran back inside as Elena screamed and grabbed at her stomach.

Damon was frantically trying to stop the blood. And he yelled at Alaric to help him.

"What's happening to her?" Alaric asked as he pressed the wound in her arm.

"I don't know." Damon pulled her shirt off, exposing her lacy bra and pressing the shirt to the stab wound.

Elena began to cry and reached out for Damon.

"It hurts." She moaned and Damon's heart broke at the pain in her eyes.

"I know kitten, I know. You're going to be alright, I promise." He said, desperately praying that it wasn't a lie.

Elena held Damon's hand and slowly closed her eyes.

**I promise elena won't always be at deaths door lol! I'm going to make the next few chapters fluffy delena fun :) - Serena**


	9. Chapter 9

A/N I am completely leaving out everything that happened at the masquerade ball... I really like the idea of the two of them being connected somehow, but i didn't want it to be a spell...

**Chapter 9**

* * *

Stefan lay with his eyes wide open, watching the sky. Watching the birds and the airplane stripes, breathing in the sharp, clear air. He felt grass tickle his face but he didn't move. Every single sense was tasting its' surroundings, tasting and reveling in the beauty of where he lay. He was in France, close to Mont Saint Michelle to be exact.

Stefan sighed, knowing that sooner or later he was going to have to close his eyes, he was going to have to come to terms with what he had done.

A face swam before him, a face so beautiful that it had been created twice. Deep chocolate pools for eyes set in that perfect olive skin… he watched as one half of his vision crumbled into heart wrenching tears while the other burned a hole in his soul with the fire in her eyes.

Dear, sweet Elena, he had betrayed her, made her look at him in fear. Why? Because of the girl who matched her so perfectly and yet held no resemblance to her whatsoever: The fiery girl who could twist his heart painfully with her eyes.

Katherine would be back soon, she had said that she had some business to attend to for a few days. He hadn't asked what it was; he didn't think he really wanted to know anyway.

He watched Elena's heartbreak over and over in his mind, feeling the hatred rise up within him. But he knew that the minute Katherine walked through the door, his heart would jolt, his anger would evaporate and all that there would be is her.

* * *

Damon and Alaric had been poring over spell books for hours, desperately searching for some kind of magic that would make sense of what was happening to Elena. There were many gruesome curses similar but none matched.

Damon looked over at Elena sleeping on the couch, her hair fanned out around her face. He had given her more of his blood; it had been the only way to prevent her from bleeding out.

He hated how much pain she had put up with over the last few weeks. Just when things seemed to be going ok, something would crash down on her head, making her beautiful little mouth turn down at the corners.

Damon sighed absently and turned back to Alaric who was saying something incredibly boring and un-useful. His mind still on Elena he came to the conclusion that she needed to have fun, get the weight of the world off her shoulders for five minutes… she was seventeen years old for crying out loud. Damon smiled as he thought of the perfect distraction from this crazy life that Elena had been catapulted into. He quickly ran his plan by Alaric who, unwillingly, agreed to cover for them.

* * *

Katherine smiled as she thought of the pain she had caused the human girl. But it didn't change the fact that whatever the connection between the two of them was, she needed to break it. She had been in contact with every single witch that she knew, to try and understand what linked the two of them. To her dismay they all said the same thing; it wasn't a spell, they were linked through their blood. It was permanent.

* * *

Elena opened her eyes and looked around getting the strangest sense of déjàvu. She was in a car… Damon's car… They were driving somewhere, fast. And her head hurt.

"Damon… where are we?"

He glanced at her and smirked.

"We are in Georgia."

Elena stared at him in surprise; he chuckled.

"And before you go off on your whole _this is kidnapping, I can't be in Georgia _thing, remember what I said last time. Ok?"

Elena felt a grin tugging at the corners of her mouth,

"And what was that may I ask?"

He smiled at her, letting his walls down and saying fondly

"Take a time out, five minutes away from our crazy lives."

Elena truly grinned now and playfully kissed his arm.

"I am so grounded when I get home…But, thank you, this is exactly what I need."

Damon just smiled at her.

* * *

Caroline approached Bonnie's house slowly, she called Bonnie's name as she walked cautiously into the dark building. She was sure Bonnie had told her to meet her here, but listening intently Caroline couldn't hear a heartbeat. Frowning to herself, she got out her phone and dialed Bonnie's number. She heard a ringing inside and moved with supernatural speed to where the sound was coming from.

Caroline reached down for the phone lying on the floor and looked around. She could feel that something wasn't right but she couldn't put her finger on it. She closed her eyes and focused on her senses, trying to pin point any noise or smell that could be helpful. She was startled when she heard three heartbeats getting louder and louder, approaching her.

Whirling around, Caroline faced off in the darkness, desperately seeking out the potential threat. It was getting closer; she could hear the blood right in her ears. Hearing a slight movement she spun around and froze on the spot. A scream dying on her lips as tears sprung to her eyes.

"Oh no… What did you do?" she sobbed

* * *

Damon pulled up outside Bree's bar and Elena smiled in delight.

"Come on kitten, let's go get hammered!" Damon said with a smirk.

Elena positively hopped out of the car, remembering the last time they were here; Damon had taken her mind off everything that had been worrying her. She had had real fun for the first time since her parents died.

Being here instantly put Elena in a good mood and she ran and jumped on Damon's back, giggling as he pretended to buckle under her weight.

"Jeez Lena…" he gasped as he hoisted her up so that she was piggyback.

She smacked his shoulder and wrapped her arms around his neck, leaning down to playfully nip his ear.

"It seems like such a long time ago we were here last." She murmured into his neck.

Damon locked the car and began to walk towards the bar.

"That's because so much has changed."

Elena snickered and jumped off his back, squealing as Damon wrapped his arms around her waist and twirled her around.

Elena's eyes danced as she pulled away from him.

"Not much has changed… I can still drink you under the table!" She smirked before skipping inside leaving, Damon wondering how in the world he had gotten so lucky.

* * *

Katherine was doing some much needed, in her opinion, retail therapy when she felt a lurch. Her insides went all jell-o like and her chest felt like it was about to explode. She gasped and sat down, trying to comprehend what was happening.

Elena was really, really happy about something and she was feeling it, for the first time in hundreds of years Katherine felt happy, euphoric even. Despite her best efforts, she felt a smile cross her lips, which quickly turned into a chuckle as she enjoyed the feeling running through her. Happiness… She was feeling Elena's happiness. But did that mean Elena was feeling her pain?

Katherine surprised herself when she hoped that Elena didn't have to suffer through what she had. She realized that she had to go and talk to the girl, explain to her what was happening… even though she couldn't really explain it herself. But some long buried maternal instinct seemed to bubble up in her as she thought of Elena feeling all of her heartbreak of the passed few hundreds of years.

"I'm so sorry Elena." She murmured softly.

* * *

Elena watched as Damon compelled the bartender not to card her, and clinked glasses with him as soon as their drinks had arrived. They both had huge smiles across their faces but Elena's faltered as she heard a fleeting, ghostly voice in her mind, making her shiver.

"I'm so sorry Elena."

**sorry it's so short, its kinda a filler really... I'm trying to decide whether to bring Klaus and the whole curse thing into the story or to go in a different direction altogether! What do you guys think? Let me know :)**


	10. Chapter 10

**Chapter 10**

* * *

Caroline stared in horror at the people in front of her.

"Mom? What did you do?" she asked desperately

Liz Forbes and one of her deputies were carrying Bonnie's unconscious body between them. They had her hands tied together and there was the distinct smell of blood.

Liz looked at her daughter in shock. This was going to be a hard one to explain without letting on that things like vampires existed, she thought nervously.

"Caroline, Your friend… isn't what she seems."

Caroline frowned; this wasn't making any sense. Did her mom think Bonnie was a vampire?

"What do you mean?"

Liz glanced at the deputy helping her; he was the son of one of the founding families and an important person on the council. She sighed and turned back to her daughter.

"Bonnie can do things, unnatural things. Dangerous things. She's a threat and needs to be taken out."

"You mean how she's a witch?" Caroline blurted out without thinking.

Liz was completely taken aback.

"Wha-what… How?" she stuttered.

Caroline thought fast.

"Mom, it's ok, I know all about the council, and vampires. And I know that Bonnie can do magic, but she isn't dangerous, she's on our side."

Caroline felt uncomfortable with the two people staring at her and looked into her mom's eyes, pleading silently.

"I'm sorry Care, but it's my job." Liz said finally and began to walk toward the door.

"Mom?" Caroline felt a sob rise in her throat as she watched her friend being carried away. "What are you going to do to her?"

Liz turned back.

"We're going to eliminate the threat. And when I get home this evening we are going to talk about how you know… and what you know."

Caroline thought about taking down both the humans and getting Bonnie out of there, but she couldn't without revealing what she was. She also wasn't sure what sort of weapons both the council members were carrying, and was certain that they had vervain on them.

She couldn't believe what was happening. Her mother was going to kill one of her best friends. She desperately grasped at her phone, quickly dialing Damon and yelling in frustration when he didn't answer. She called Alaric instead.

* * *

Elena threw back her fifth shot and giggled when Damon raised his eyebrows.

"What?"

Damon smiled warmly at her.

"I just forgot how much fun you can be."

"Why… am I usually boring?" Elena asked looking slightly hurt.

Damon tucked a strand of hair behind her ear.

"No you are never boring, but it's nice to see you have a good time." He said with a smile.

Elena grinned at him and turned back to the bartender.

"Another round for the bar, my friend!" She yelled, earning a cheer from everyone around her.

* * *

Katherine walked towards the Salvatore boarding house slowly, knowing that no one was going to be particularly pleased to see her. Not that she cared, but she didn't want to walk through the door and get immediately staked.

She sighed, lost in thought. She wanted Stefan and Damon back, just like she had had them in 1864. They had all been together, and in her own way she had loved them both. She loved Stefan more but Damon was always a good laugh. But he had to go and fall in love with Elena, the human with her face. And now to make matters worse, she was considering helping the girl.

That she completely did not understand; human life held no importance to her. She could torture and kill without batting an eye. She had hurt Elena and enjoyed it… until she had looked into her eyes and felt their connection. She had had the strangest sensation in that moment, almost as if she were about to kill herself.

Shaking herself out of her reverie Katherine realized she was at the boarding house door. She listened quietly but there were no heartbeats and as far as she could tell, no vampire presence either. She scowled and changed direction, heading for Elena's house.

* * *

Alaric stared at his phone, the garbled conversation he had just had with a teary Caroline had made no sense whatsoever. This was just the worst time for something like this to happen. Stefan was MIA and Damon was out of town.

"Is everything ok?" Jenna asked

They were at the Gilbert house watching a movie; Jenna was curled up beside him on the sofa looking concerned.

"Um… There's a… family emergency. I have to go."

He looked at Jenna and smiled.

"Don't worry, everything's fine. Sorry to take off on you."

She nodded and kissed him quickly.

"Its fine, I hope whatever it is works out ok."

Alaric smiled and nodded and pulling on his coat, left the house.

* * *

"Dance with me." Damon whispered in Elena's ear, making her shiver.

She took his hand and he twirled her around. She laughed in delight. She was unsteady on her feet from the alcohol and Damon held her close, his arms wrapped around her waist. Elena entwined her fingers in his hair and pressed her lips against his.

He kissed her back softly at first, savoring the moment. She opened her mouth and deepened the kiss, loving the sensations his hands sent down her body.

Before she knew what was happening they were outside and she was pressed against a wall, Damon's mouth still pressed against hers. Her hand slipped up his shirt, feeling the contours of his back, and he smiled against her lips.

Elena knew that the alcohol was blurring her mind but she was in no doubt that this was what she wanted. She pulled Damon's body closer to hers and gasped as his hand trailed up her stomach underneath her top. She pressed her thighs against his and tingled at the contact. She was surprised when Damon pulled back looking at her intently.

"Not here." He murmured.

She nodded and let him lead her back to the car.

* * *

Katherine knocked on the Gilbert's door. She could hear a heartbeat and hoped that it was Elena's.

The door opened and Jenna stared at her in surprise.

"Elena? I thought you were staying at Bonnie's for the weekend."

Katherine smiled to herself at that information and said

"Yeah I just needed to grab something from my room."

Katherine could smell the vervain perfume that Elena had given Jenna and knew she had to play along. She dashed up to Elena's room and looked around. She could smell Damon, which made her scowl. She glanced around and grabbed one of Elena's jackets before hurrying back downstairs.

Katherine briefly thought about just killing the aunt, but reminded herself that she wasn't there for the kill and waved goodbye before ducking outside. Now to find the little Bennet witch's house….

* * *

The minute the hotel door closed behind them, Damon's lips were against Elena's, kissing her with a passion and desperation that made her gasp.

She walked backwards until she felt the wall press against her. Damon ran his hands down her sides and lifted her up so that her legs wrapped around his waist. He trailed kisses along her jaw and down her neck; Elena felt a moan escape her as Damon's mouth reached her chest. She clasped his hair in her hands and arched her back, pressing herself against him. She fumbled with the buttons on his shirt, and yanked it off, running her hands over his bare chest.

Damon brought his mouth back up to meet hers and within seconds, she was lying on the bed with Damon above her. He pulled her top over her head and groaned as Elena's hands moved down towards his pants.

Damon pulled away from her as her hands fumbled with his zipper. He looked into her eyes.

"Are you sure?" He asked

Elena nodded, her eyes dark with desire.

"I've never been more sure of anything in my life." She said and smiled as Damon's helped her out of her jeans. Finally rid of their clothes, Damon entered her. Elena wrapped her arms around his neck, and gasped at the sensations no one else had ever made her feel.

Damon looked deep into her eyes,

"I love you." He whispered

"I love you too."

And with that they proceeded to have the most passionate night of their lives.

* * *

Alaric was desperately trying to calm Caroline down. They were sitting in his car outside the police station and it was all he could do to prevent her from rushing in and busting Bonnie out.

"We don't even know that she's here… If we go busting in there we're just going to cause a scene. We need a plan Caroline."

"She said she was going to kill Bonnie. We can't let that happen." Caroline said tears trickling down her cheeks.

"I know. We're going to get her out I promise, but we need to think it through."

Caroline nodded and dialed a number on her phone. She groaned in frustration.

"Why is Damon's phone switched off?"

Alaric sighed.

"He took Elena out of town for a couple of days, figured she could use a break from the supernatural."

Caroline stared at him, Bonnie momentarily forgotten.

"Do you think they're doing it?" she gasped, a cheeky grin on her face.

Alaric looked confused.

"What? Doing what… Oh god, Caroline no, of course not." He mumbled.

She giggled.

"Come on, haven't you seen the way he looks at her? They are so doing it!"

Alaric rolled his eyes.

"Caroline focus. We need to save Bonnie, remember."

She nodded as he continued.

"I don't think they'll kill her tonight, they want to know more about what she is and who else is like her. Which means we have until tomorrow to come up with a plan."

He started the car and Caroline sighed in defeat.

* * *

Katherine could tell that Elena wasn't at the witch's house and sighed. Goody two shoes little Elena has been fibbing to dear aunt Jenna, she thought with a smirk.

She decided to head back to her hotel and wait out another couple of days to find her. She still had to get her hands on the moonstone anyway.

* * *

Stefan was getting bored, he wondered around Katherine's huge French mansion and sighed. she wasn't answering her phone and she'd been gone for days.

He knew that there was no point in hassling her but it still bugged him. He found his mind drifting back to Elena, and quickly shook his head, forcing her out of his head.

"I love Katherine." He murmured.


	11. Chapter 11

**Chapter 11**

Bonnie opened her eyes with a gasp. She looked around and struggled to sit up, she had been drugged and could feel the pounding in her head, she was in a room with almost no furniture or windows.

She tried desperately to remember what happened, sheriff Forbes had come to see her and had asked her about vampires… then everything was black and confused.

Bonnie quickly realized that she didn't have her phone or purse. She approached the door and tried the handle, locked of course but it had been worth a try. She banged against it. When no one came she rolled her eyes at herself and tried to think of a spell to get out of there.

* * *

Elena opened her eyes and smiled when she felt strong arms around her. She turned her head and saw Damon, sleeping with his face in her hair. She watched him for a while; smiling at how innocent he looked when unconsciousness. She gently traced the contours of his face with her hand, brushing her finger across his lips as they twitched into a smirk.

"Elena it's rude to poke people when they're asleep." He murmured.

Elena blushed slightly at being caught.

Damon opened his eyes and looked at her.

"Hey." She said.

He kissed her forehead softly and wrapped his arm tighter around her waist.

"Good morning beautiful." He said with a grin that turned to a fake scowl as Elena wriggled out of his embrace and hopped off the bed.

"And where do you think you're going?"

She laughed.

"Back to reality. As absolutely perfect as yesterday was, you have eleven missed calls and I'm worried that Katherine might have tried something."

Damon smiled and pulled her mouth down to his.

"When this is all over with, we are going to go away on a proper vacation. Till then I have an enormous house and you have plenty of excuses to come and stay with me."

He said against her lips, she responded with a grin and kissed him on the nose before running into the bathroom.

He reached for his phone and flicked through the calls.

"Huh, most are from Caroline. Wonder what her problem is." He murmured as he pressed call.

"Care to explain the 9 times you've called me Blondie?"

Damon's smirk turned to a frown as he listened to Caroline's frantic account of what had happened to Bonnie.

"What? Why would Liz want Bonnie? That doesn't make any sense."

Elena came out of the bathroom with a towel around her body and looked at Damon questioningly. He gave her clothing situation an appreciative glance before turning his attention back to the vampire on the phone.

"Ok Caroline calm down. I'll talk to Liz and figure out what's going on, no one is killing the witch."

Elena gasped and her eyes went wide. Damon hung up and turned to her with a frown.

"What's happened to Bonnie?" she asked desperately.

"Liz drugged her and told Caroline she was going to kill her because she was supernatural… But it doesn't add up. She has no reason to even suspect her as being a witch."

Damon took in Elena's terrified expression and wrapped his arms around her, not caring that she was wet from the shower.

"We'll get her back, much as I hate that little Sabrina, I would miss her snide comments."

He kissed Elena's hair.

* * *

Bonnie jumped up as the door opened. She had been unable to use any magic in this little room, there seemed to be something blocking it. She turned to see who her visitor was and felt the blood leave her face. It felt as if the air had been sucked out of the room.

"What do you want with me?" she choked out.

"You are going to kill the doppelganger."

**I'm so sorry it's such a short update, I have exams right now so I'm totally busy and stressed out :( Next chapter will make up for it I promise! Serena x**


	12. Chapter 12

**Chapter 12**

* * *

Although Bonnie had never met the vampire standing in front of her, she could feel his power. She could tell that he was a lot older than Stefan or Damon and every fiber in her body told her to run and never look back. This man was dangerous; he was pure evil. After the initial shock of seeing him, her mind focused on what he was saying. Kill Elena, he wanted her to kill Elena.

"What? No I'm not going to kill her." Bonnie tried to keep the fear out of her voice.

The vampire laughed.

"Dear Bonnie, I'm afraid you don't have a choice. You kill the Petrova doppelganger or I will kill you."

Bonnie stared at him in horror. She though of Elena and realized with a shock that she would die for her. She loved her like a sister; she wasn't going to hurt her…Even if it cost her own life.

She lifted her head defiantly.

"Kill me then, I will not hurt my friend."

The old vampire stayed silent, watching the witch. Bonnie frowned suddenly.

"Who are you and why do you want Elena dead anyway?"

The vampire smiled sadistically.

"My name is Alecus. I am an old friend of Klaus's… or at least I used to be before we became old enemies." He grinned wildly and Bonnie realized that he was completely insane.

"Klaus wants to break the curse by sacrificing the doppelganger. I don't want the curse broken so I am going to kill Elena before Klaus even gets near her. Then I am going to kill Klaus. Payback is sweet my dear witch."

Bonnie flinched at his words.

"Why do you need me?"

"Because I like playing games, the youngest Bennet witch kills her best friend, Katerina will die also due to their connection, the eldest Salvatore brother will kill you in vengeance for Elena's death and the youngest Salvatore will kill him in vengeance for Katerina's death. Then I will kill anyone left standing. The Petrova doppelgangers will indirectly doom everyone they love. It has a certain poetic quality don't you think?"

Bonnie stared at him, she felt sick.

"I will never, ever do help you."

Alecus smiled.

"You value Elena's life above your own, but you do not value vampire life… am I right?"

Bonnie remained silent glaring at the evil man before her.

"Yes, I am right. So the question is how much value does one life hold? I will slowly kill every human citizen of Mystic Falls until you do as I say."

Bonnie felt her eyes fill with tears. She couldn't let him spill innocent blood. Elena was one human but Alecus would kill hundreds. It was her duty to protect the town.

Bonnie took a deep breath and pushed Elena's face out of her mind.

"How do I do it?" She asked.

* * *

Damon and Elena drove in silence for most of the journey back to Mystic Falls. Elena was nervously bighting her nails, worrying about Bonnie. Damon took her hand in his and held it tight.

"Lena, calm down. We're going to get Bonnie back. I promise."

She nodded and calmed slightly. Damon glanced across at her.

"People are going to have trouble accepting us being together…" he asked quietly.

If possible she looked even more nervous than before.

"Yeah, I know."

"Well I've been thinking that if you want… we don't have to tell everyone straight away."

Elena looked at him, surprise etched in her features.

"We can wait to 'out' ourselves till after this blows over. It will be less stressful."

"And you don't mind us doing that?" she asked skeptically.

Damon smiled at her.

"Your friends are going to give you a hard time Elena. We have bigger problems than bitchy blonde vampires ragging on you for your choice in boyfriends." He said with a slight smirk.

Elena thought it over; it made sense. They all needed to focus on helping Bonnie, the developments in Damon and Elena's relationship would just distract everyone.

She leaned across and kissed him on the cheek.

"Thank you." She whispered.

He nodded.

"I love you Kitten."

"I love you too."

* * *

When they arrived in Mystic Falls, they went straight to see Alaric who was trying to calm a hysterical Caroline. She jumped up and flew into Elena's arms the minute they walked through the door, knocking Elena back into Damon who caught her as she almost fell.

"Elena! Oh thank god you're back."

"Nice to see you too Blondie." Damon said sarcastically, walking towards Alaric after making sure that the two girls were staying vertical.

"How was your break from the supernatural?" Ric asked casually.

Damon shrugged.

"What's the plan?" he asked, avoiding the question.

Caroline picked up on it.

"Yeah Elena, what were you doing, going out of town with Damon?" she asked curiously.

"Well, what with mysterious stab wounds appearing on my body and murderous vampires trying to kill me, Damon figured I could use a break. It was fun."

Caroline looked between the two of them.

"Don't worry vamp Barbie, we had separate beds." Damon lied smoothly, correctly predicting her next question.

Ric looked awkward.

"So…" He said.

At that moment the doorbell interrupted them. Elena went to answer, leaving the others discussing the plan. She opened the door and her jaw dropped in surprise.

There stood Bonnie, looking as if nothing had happened.

"Bonnie?" Elena gasped.

Bonnie looked at her weirdly and pushed passed her.

"Where have all you guys been? I've been looking everywhere." She said walking into the sitting room.

Damon, Ric and Caroline turned to stare at her in shock.

"Wha…?"

Bonnie?"

"You have got to be kidding me!"

Bonnie saw their confused expressions and frowned.

"What's going on?"

Caroline ran and hugged her friend and Elena quickly followed suit.

"You were kidnapped by my mom. She was going to kill you! How did you get away?"

"Caroline, I've been at home this entire time. No one kidnapped me… I've been trying to call you but you weren't picking up."

Everyone looked confused.

"Great, you interrupted my weekend away because Caroline is mental. What's new." Damon said looking pissed. He walked into the kitchen and helped himself to some of the blood bags that Alaric kept in his fridge.

Caroline's garbled protest was cut off by the sound of a door being broken down. Everyone jumped and Damon moved himself in front of Elena in a blink of an eye.

A string of profanities met their ears as they went to see who the intruder was.

Katherine was standing on the other side of the invisible barrier at the door.

"Can someone just invite me in already? I promise I wont kill anyone."

Damon rolled his eyes but kept his protective stance in front of Elena.

"There is no way I am inviting you into my house Katherine." Ric said firmly.

"What do you want?" Elena asked, peeping out from behind Damon.

Katherine locked eyes with Elena.

"To talk to you."

She cut Damon off as he opened his mouth to protest.

"And I mean talk. I'm not going to hurt you."

Elena stepped out next to Damon and frowned.

"Why do you have to talk to me?"

Katherine didn't break eye contact.

"Because for the last few days I have been feeling everything you feel. It wont be long until you feel me too, if you haven't already." She cocked her head to the side observing her doppelganger.

Elena wasn't as surprised as everyone else; she had felt this connection.

Katherine continued, her eyes flickering with a shred of what Elena thought could be humanity.

"There are things that it will be very hard for you to deal with should this connection continue. You are going to feel everything that I have shut off. You don't have the ability to turn off your emotions so you are going to have over 500 years worth of pent up pain on your shoulders."

Elena looked at Katherine in shock. She was acting as though she cared, maybe there was hope for her after all…

"So are you going to let me in so we can talk?"

Alaric shook his head.

"No, we're not falling for your games Katherine."

Elena ducked between Damon's arms and stepped over the threshold before anyone could stop her.

"Let's talk." She said, bravely.

Damon and Caroline dashed out after her but when they looked around, there was no sign of either Petrova.


	13. Chapter 13

**Chapter 13**

* * *

"Dammit Elena!" Damon swore.

"Damon calm down." Alaric tried to reason with him.

"Calm down? She's with Katherine!" Damon shouted.

Caroline looked around, she closed her eyes and sniffed.

"We have to follow their trail." Caroline set off in the direction of the boarding house, Damon followed quickly behind while Bonnie and Ric ran to the car.

* * *

Elena held on to Katherine for dear life as she raced through the woods.

"Where are you taking me?" She asked quietly.

"Somewhere we can talk."

Elena could feel the connection between them where their skin touched. It was bizarre, she could feel Katherine's intentions, it was almost as if she could read her thoughts, Katherine was furious with her because she was making her feel things she hadn't in hundreds of years. But she didn't intend to kill her. Elena relaxed slightly.

"Why didn't you kill me, in the tomb?"

Katherine pursed her lips.

"When I was about to do it, I felt your fear, it was like I was about to kill myself."

Elena nodded, that made sense.

They reached the boarding house and Katherine raced down to the basement, depositing Elena awkwardly on the floor.

Katherine lent against the wall and watched her.

"What do you think it is? This connection."

Katherine frowned.

"I don't know, it must be something to do with the doppelganger curse… It gets stronger the closer I am to you, I can read you very clearly right now."

Elena nodded, she could read Katherine as well.

"So what are we going to do about it?"

"I don't know, I don't need to feel all the teenage drama crap that you feel. Quite frankly it's getting annoying."

Elena suddenly felt very angry. Katherine deserved to feel a huge amount of guilt and pain for all the unspeakable things that she had done. She had torn out Damon's heart, she had killed Caroline, hurt Jenna and she had very nearly killed Elena herself. She was a selfish little bitch and the only shred of humanity that she had came from Elena's feelings. Elena felt a wave of hatred and disgust for the girl in front of her.

Katherine turned toward Elena, fury etched across her features. Elena suddenly realized that Katherine had mirrored her feelings against Elena; the hatred was now directly focused on her. She swallowed as Katherine approached her.

"This is all your fault. You stupid little girl" Katherine lunged toward her doppelganger and Elena thought fast.

She projected pain on Katherine, watching in fascination as she stopped and clutched at her chest, her face twisting in confusion. At that moment Damon and Caroline burst through the door, Damon threw himself at Katherine while Caroline grabbed Elena and pulled her back.

"No Damon, stop." Elena yelled, Damon had Katherine pinned to the wall, he looked at Elena in surprise.

"Damon please, I can handle it." He nodded slightly and backed away, still keeping his body in between the doppelgangers.

Katherine stalked towards Elena and she projected again, making Katherine's face crumple in a very human way.

"What are you doing?" Damon asked quietly.

Elena didn't look at him.

"I'm making her feel."

Katherine let out a piercing scream and advanced on Elena

"Stop it. Stop it now!" She yelled.

Damon stepped in front of Elena protectively but she gently pushed him away.

"It's ok, I can handle it."

Katherine moved closer until they were almost nose-to-nose.

"You can handle it can you? Pathetic little human, I could rip you to shreds where you stand."

Elena concentrated hard, she thought about everything that she'd ever done that was wrong, that made her feel guilty, then she thought about all the evil and cruel things that Katherine had done and imagined the guilt they deserved.

Katherine screamed again and clutched her chest. A tear escaped her eye.

"Stop it, please!"

"What's she feeling?" Caroline asked

"Guilt."

Katherine began to cry in earnest now and Elena could see that she was getting somewhere.

"So Katherine, what are the emotions that you usually feel? Hate?" She forced hatred out of her and watched as Katherine's eyes darkened and her fangs extended. She glanced at Damon as if considering whether he'd be quick enough to stop her before she ripped Elena's throat out. Elena didn't miss the look.

"Ah, Damon. What did you feel for him Katty?" She asked and imagined Damon kissing her the feeling of his hands against her skin… Desire quickly leapt through her body.

"Desire?" Elena asked rhetorically. Katherine was looking at Damon again, this time her face was open and lustful.

Damon looked away awkwardly, which made Elena giggle slightly. Then she had an idea.

"Do you know what you made him feel?" She asked, her voice barely above a whisper. Elena thought about everything that had hurt her in her life. Her parents' death, Stefan's betrayal, she thought about the broken look in Damon's eyes when he found out that Katherine had never been in the tomb. She thought of every time someone had done something to make her hurt and added it all together, throwing the feelings at Katherine. It was horrible, both Katherine and Elena were struggling with the pain they almost simultaneously they sank to the floor.

"That's what you made him feel." Elena yelled, tears streaking down her face.

Katherine was sobbing, her eyes tortured.

"Stop it, Elena please, stop!" She begged.

"No! This is heartbreak Katherine, this is what you have inflicted on so many people."

Katherine lay on the floor, her hands tearing at the stone.

Elena could feel her own heart breaking and suddenly changed emotion, and let love run through her. She thought of Damon, of the first time they'd met, of their trip to Georgia, their first kiss, his smile, his bright blue eyes. She felt love.

Katherine sat up, and looked at her doppelganger.

"What is that?" She whispered.

Elena walked forward and knelt beside her.

"That is an emotion everyone deserves to feel Katherine. That is love."

* * *

Bonnie and Alaric pulled into the driveway of the boarding house. Bonnie felt sick to the stomach. She knew what she had to do and she knew that it was the right thing, but it hurt. She had to put the safety of her town over her friend's life and she was willing to do it.

She hadn't realized that Caroline had seen her with Sheriff Forbes, it complicated things… but it didn't completely scupper the plan, she could still make it work.

Bonnie knew that Caroline's mom had been compelled by Alecus to take her, he wasn't hindered by vervain, but that part confused her a bit, why not just take her himself… unless he had intended Caroline to see. It could have been part of his sick little game…

Bonnie's musings were interrupted as the car came to a stop and Ric jumped out. Bonnie followed him, she knew she couldn't do it now, she didn't stand a chance with Damon and Caroline there. But it had to be soon.

She had to end Elena's life very, very soon if she wanted to keep the citizens of Mystic Falls alive and well.

**Sorry for the long wait for this chapter... I hope you liked it :)**


	14. Chapter 14

**Chapter 14**

* * *

"I can feel it all… everything." Katherine whispered. She was sitting in the boarding house living room, Elena sat beside her, Damon and Alaric sat opposite and Bonnie and Caroline had excused themselves and gone home.

Katherine looked lost, her eyes were far away; Elena touched her arm, pulling her back to reality.

"You don't have to be that person anymore, you can be good now, like Damon." Elena said quietly. Damon flicked his eyes to hers before looking away.

"You don't understand Elena, I can't be good; it's not in me."

"Maybe it is, I mean when Damon first came to town he was pretty much psycho… now he's just an ass." Ric chimed in.

Damon rolled his eyes.

"Thanks Ric." He said sarcastically, he looked at Katherine.

"Look, back in 1864 when I knew you, you were pretty much a bitch. But I saw flickers of humanity, mostly when you were with Stefan, but they were there."

Katherine and Elena both flinched at the mention of the younger Salvatore. But Elena gave Damon a dazzling smile in thanks for his observation.

"I think Elena and I, both would rather you two not take a trip down memory lane right now. How about we get to the point?" Alaric earned a glare from Katherine and a grateful smile from Elena.

"And what point is that exactly?" Katherine asked.

"What we are going to do with you." Alaric shot back.

"You've kidnapped Elena twice in the past week. In my book that deems you unforgiveable." Damon said with a hint of venom in his voice.

Elena sighed and turned to her doppelganger.

"What do you want to do?" she asked quietly.

Katherine looked at Elena in surprise.

"Why are you being so nice to me? I've nearly killed you, on several occasions."

Elena looked down.

"I can feel that there's a part of you that wants to change, if I can help make you a better person, then I want to do that."

Katherine nodded and Damon looked at Elena with a slightly exasperated but fond expression.

"I'm going to go and see Stefan… I need to figure some stuff out." Katherine said.

Elena smiled, and Katherine looked at her almost softly.

"I wanted to warn you about the feelings that you might feel because of me, but I think you can handle it. You're strong Elena, you're a survivor." She laughed slightly. "Which is good because if you die, I die." She said with a smirk.

Elena giggled and Damon flinched.

"Try not to get staked… It hurts like hell!" Elena said.

Damon frowned.

"Well, it's sorted then. Normally I would tell you that if you made me regret not locking you up for good I'd kill you. With this whole Elena thing, we both know I wouldn't … so just try not to fuck up." Damon said to Katherine. "And don't you dare die." He added.

Elena smiled and surprising everyone in the room, hugged her doppelganger. Katherine hugged her back for a moment before awkwardly pulling away and slipping out the door. Elena sighed and lent back against the sofa. Alaric got up and said his goodbyes.

Once they were alone, Damon sat next to Elena and curled his arm around her waist. She burrowed her face into his chest and smiled as she felt him kiss her hair.

"I love you." She murmured.

"I love you too." He said and tightened his grip on her.

"But you've got to be more careful with your life Elena. I can't lose you, ok."

She nodded.

"I'm sorry I worried you." She reached up and kissed him. He smiled against her lips.

"I like this apology." He said with a smirk. Elena rolled her eyes, and wrapped her arms around his neck. Damon brought his lips back to hers and kissed her tenderly. It was different to their other kisses, it was soft and gentle and full of love. When they broke apart, they curled up together and watched the fire, completely content in their comfortable silence.

* * *

Bonnie was carefully flicking through the grimoire she knew that she could just kill Elena with a normal weapon, but somehow it felt too personal. She though that if she used a spell she would feel less connected to her death. She just had to wait for a time when Damon left her alone. That was going to be the tricky part; those two were almost inseparable now… If worst came to worst she could incapacitate Damon and then kill her. She loved hurting the disgusting bloodsucker anyway so it would work out well.

Bonnie felt a gust of wind at the back of her neck and whirled around to see Alecus standing by her bedroom window. He was watching her carefully.

"Bonnie Bennet, you are running out of time."

Bonnie shivered.

"I know, I'm sorry. I'm going to do it as soon as possible."

Alecus shook his head slowly, before cocking it to the side in a very sinister gesture.

"Do it tonight."

"What? But I…"

"Tonight Miss Bennet."

His words rung with finality and then suddenly he was gone. Bonnie sank down on her bed. She had to end her best friends' life tonight. She memorized the spell she was going to use and grabbed her keys; she drove to the boarding house slowly. She was pretty sure Elena was still there. She only hoped that the others had gone, she had no qualms about hurting Damon but she didn't want Alaric or Caroline to get in the way.

She parked her car outside and walked slowly toward the door. Her heart was racing in her chest and she briefly wondered if Damon could hear it. The door was unlocked so she let herself in and walked toward the sitting room where she heard voices.

Damon and Elena were curled up together on the sofa, Damon was stroking lazy circles on her back and Elena was resting her head in the crook of his neck. They looked like every other normal happy couple. Bonnie briefly wondered when they had become a couple, but decided she didn't care. It just made it easier to kill Elena, she was with a monster; she had lost sight of good and evil.

"Hello Sabrina." Damon didn't turn around but Elena jumped and looked over his shoulder.

"Bonnie, what are you doing here?" She shifted slightly to put a bit more space between her and Damon.

Bonnie walked further into the room. She stood in front of Damon and Elena.

"Elena, I'm sorry. I truly am sorry, but I have to do this." She whispered.

Damon looked at her suspiciously, he started to get up but then fell straight back down, completely frozen. Elena moved to him, and clutched his face in her hands.

"What did you do to him?" She yelled

Bonnie sighed.

"He's fine, he is just completely incapacitated. He can still see and hear and it will wear off in a few hours." She said calmly.

Elena stroked his cheek, before rounding angrily on her friend.

"What are you doing? Undo it!"

Bonnie shook her head.

"I'm sorry Elena." She fixed Elena with her eyes and she fell to the floor.

"Bonnie…What?" Elena asked, every part of her body was hurting, she felt as if she were imploding.

"Bonnie." She screamed.

Bonnie didn't move, she just kept her eyes fixed on Elena's writing body on the ground.

Damon couldn't move; he couldn't do anything he couldn't save her. He struggled with all his power to move but he couldn't even twitch a finger. He watched helplessly as Elena yelled in agony, he felt his heart breaking.

Elena's struggles grew less and less, her body giving into the pressure. She was dying. She looked up at Damon's still form and gazed into his frantic eyes. She gave him a weak smiled and tried to focus on his face, she wanted him to be the last thing she saw.

"I love you." She mouthed.

Damon was screaming inside the prison that was his own body. She couldn't die, not Elena, his Elena.

Elena closed her eyes and slipped into the darkness.


	15. Chapter 15

**Chapter 15.**

* * *

Everything was beautiful, warm and glowing. She reveled in the golden light and took deep, cleansing breaths. She smiled and looked around, she wasn't sure where she was, it was sort of indescribable but she felt comfortable. Like she knew that everything was going to be ok, she felt loved.

She lay down and gazed up at the sky, something began to nag at her brain but she couldn't think of what it was. It was like trying to remember a dream. She sighed and shook the thoughts from her head; she relaxed and closed her eyes.

She awoke a while later, and stood up, taking in her golden surroundings, she briefly wondered how she had got here, but it didn't seem like a pressing subject so she didn't think much about it. She walked around a little trying to get a feel for where she was; it was a sort of bubble, a bubble of beautiful warm light. She smiled; she seemed to be doing that a lot here. She sat down again and pulled her knees up to her chest. The nagging in her brain was back again, she frowned, trying to grasp the memory that tugged on the fringes of her consciousness.

She gave up after a while, every time she thought she had remembered, it would slip away. Sighing she twirled her hair around her fingers and vaguely wondered how long she was going to be here… wherever here was.

A voice jarred her out of her contemplations. She looked around but she was still alone.

"Please Elena." The voice begged.

It was so familiar, she felt a rush of emotions at the sound but she couldn't place it. It was a male voice, and he sounded upset… no, scratch that, he sounded _broken. _

She frowned; she had the sudden urge to comfort the man, but couldn't… Seeing as he was invisible.

"Come on Elena. Stay with me."

Elena? That name sounded familiar as well, maybe it was someone she knew? Why couldn't she remember these things?

"Please wake up kitten, come on!"

The voice cracked and her heart went out to the person, he was heartbroken. She wished she could help him. She had a feeling that if she just remembered, then she could… But she dint know what she was supposed to remember.

Suddenly her surrounding began to get darker, the golden light turning to a sinister grey. She hunched down, making herself as small as possible, shivering as the temperature dropped and icy wind surrounded her. The feelings of happiness and contentment that she had had before were replaced by fear and pain.

Pain. Everywhere pain, every part of her body hurt, she was on fire. She cried out and heard his voice right by her ear, she twisted around but couldn't see anything.

"Elena, Elena, Elena, Elena." The voice desperately murmured.

She closed her eyes tight.

"Come on."

She opened her eyes, it was bright… too bright. Something shifted in her line of vision and a blurry shape hovered above her. She tried to focus but couldn't.

"Elena? Thank God."

Suddenly someone was kissing every inch if her face, she felt a drop of water hit her cheek and realized that the person was crying.

Damon, of course, how could she have forgotten Damon? The voice belonged to him, and the feather light kisses were no doubt his as well. She tried to focus again and finally was able to make out a pair of bright blue eyes gazing at her. They were glistening with tears, and she tried to reach up to comfort him.

Pain shot through her whole body as she moved her arm. She cried out and Damon was instantly stroking her hair, shushing her.

She couldn't remember what had happened or where she was, she didn't know why every inch of her body was burning, she didn't know what the bizarre background noises surrounding her were… But she looked up into Damon's deep blue eyes and knew one thing. No matter what happened, Damon would make sure everything was going to be all right.

"She's dead." Katherine loomed into Elena's vision, her mouth set in a grim line.

**I am sooooo sorry its so short :( its a filler chapter, but i hope u like!**


	16. Chapter 16

**Chapter 16**

* * *

"She's dead." Katherine loomed into Elena's vision, her mouth set in a grim line.

Damon nodded and Elena stared at them frowning.

"What? Who's dead?" She asked, confused.

Damon looked at her and stroked her cheek.

"I'm sorry Elena, it had to be done."

Katherine nodded.

"What had to be done? What's going on?"

Damon moved away slightly, opening Elena's line of vision. She stared at the body in the middle of the sitting room. It was a girl with dark skin, her hair jet black hair was fanned around her and her eyes were closed. Bonnie.

Elena gasped and struggled to sit up, fighting the arms that held her, trying to keep her from moving.

"What did you do?" She yelled at the two vampires in front of her.

She felt tears trickling down her face.

"Bonnie! Bonnie wake up."

When her friend didn't move, she kicked Damon and he let her go, taking a deep breath as she ran toward the body.

She knelt down beside her, shaking her shoulder, patting her cheek, desperately trying to convince herself that she was just sleeping.

"It was her or you." Katherine said quietly.

Elena turned to face her.

"There would have been another way. You didn't have to kill her."

"She was killing _you _Elena, Katherine got here just in time if she had been a few moments longer…" Damon broke off, refusing to follow that train of thought.

Elena squeezed her eyes shut, took a deep breath and nodded.

"I understand." She said coldly, not wanting to discuss it further.

She suddenly thought of something and said

"But, I was unconscious, how were you able to stop her?"

Katherine sighed.

"The witch was using a spell that makes your body slowly implode. I felt your pain but due to vampires being slightly more durable, I wasn't badly affected. But if you had actually died, then I would have too."

Elena stroked Bonnie's hair.

"Why would she do this?"

No one had the answer.

* * *

Stefan sat on a bed looking around at his few possessions. Katherine had been gone for days now and he was tired of waiting around for her. He came to a split second decision and blurred around the room, shoving a change of clothes into a suitcase.

He needed to go back to Mystic Falls, he had left things on a very bad note and it had been bothering him ever since. He had been so caught up in Katherine that he hadn't cared about anything else. Now looking back with a slightly more rational mind he knew that he could have handled things better.

He would go back, explain and apologize and then come back here, by then Katherine would probably be back and he would be rid of this guilt.

* * *

Elena wearily let herself into her house, breathing a sigh of relief when she found it empty, Jenna and Jeremy must be out. She dumped her jacket on a chair and headed up to her room, collapsing on the bed. Katherine and Damon had decided to take turns guarding her house, which she thought was unnecessary.

She changed into her pajamas and went into the bathroom to brush her teeth. She looked at her reflection in the mirror, thinking about how much she had changed since the accident. She knew it was for the better, but a part of her yearned for the carefree, popular girl she used to be. She sighed and washed up, hanging the towel on the rail and before walking out of the bathroom and closing the door.

She gasped in shock when she came face to face with a man standing behind the door. She opened her mouth to scream for Damon or Katherine but the man was fast. He had her pinned on the bed with his hand covering her mouth before she could blink.

He smiled down at her.

"Hello Elena, my name is Alecus, I think you and I are going to be great friends."

* * *

The next day, Elena went straight to the boarding house. She wasn't sure how much more time she was going to have with Damon and she wanted to use it well. She couldn't tell him what Alecus had planned, she didn't really want to anyway, he would just get himself killed trying to save her.

She approached the door, smiling when Damon opened it before she knocked. He wrapped his arms around her and kissed her hair. Elena pressed her hand to his cheek and looked into his eyes.

"I love you." She said quietly.

Damon's lips met hers and Elena felt her knees grow weak as he ran his tongue along her bottom lip. He pulled away and she felt her face slip into a pout at the loss of contact.

"I love you." Damon said.

She smiled and wrapped her arms around his neck. He pushed her against the wall and kissed her passionately, roughly. He kissed down her neck and along her collarbone, smiling when Elena arched her back, pressing her body against his.

Elena never felt better than when she was with Damon, she could feel his love and he could feel hers. Their bodies molded like they were made for each other. Together they were perfect, neither of them had ever experienced something as sensuous and beautiful.

Elena pulled Damon's shirt over his head and he returned the favor before unclipping her bra and kissing her left breast. She gasped in pleasure and he gently bit her nipple, Elena's hands moved towards his zipper and with fumbling fingers she got him out of his jeans before pulling her own off.

Elena ran her hands across Damon's muscled chest and groaned as he slipped a finger inside her.

"Damon." She moaned.

He kissed her, and she gasped as he pleasured her. Just before she fell into the blissful oblivion that was so close Damon removed his fingers and entered her, Elena cried out in pleasure and bit his shoulder.

They made love until the climaxed together, then they did it again… and again… spending the whole day wrapped in each others loving embraces. They were both worried about what the future might hold, and dint want to let go. As the night drew near they fell asleep, their limbs tangled together, not knowing when they might get the chance to be this close again.


	17. Chapter 17

**Chapter 17**

* * *

Elena awoke in Damon's arms, she was curled against his chest and she smiled, breathing in his heady scent. Committing this moment to memory. She didn't know exactly what Alecus was going to do to her, but he had made it clear that if she didn't comply with his demands, someone she cared about would suffer. Elena shuddered at that thought, imagining whom he could hurt, Jenna, Jeremy, Caroline… Damon.

He had already gotten to Bonnie, he had told her everything that had happened. And she understood her friends betrayal, but it still hurt. She had known Bonnie since preschool, and couldn't believe that their friendship had come to kill or be killed.

She sighed and looked at her watch, she had to go soon. She was supposed to meet Alecus at the graveyard, the thought made her throat close in fear but she wasn't willing to risk the people she loved.

She looked at Damon, he was so unbelievable beautiful. Her heart filled with devotion as she gazed down at him. She had never loved anybody like she loved Damon.

Careful not to wake him, she pressed her lips to his forehead, closing her eyes as her tears threatened to fall. She prayed that she would see him again.

She took a deep breath and quietly got out of bed and pulled on her clothes. She slipped out of the door and headed downstairs. She walked to the front door and gasped when Damon appeared in front of her. He raised an eyebrow.

"Elena Gilbert doing the walk of shame, who would have thought." He said with a playful smirk.

Elena gave him a weak smile. She had anticipated this and knew what she had to do, she was prepared, but it hurt her; knowing that she would hurt him. But no matter what, he couldn't come with her to see Alecus, he had been very clear on that term.

"Sorry, its just Jenna will be worried about me, and you looked so peaceful I didn't want to wake you."

Damon smiled at her.

"Don't worry about it kitten, I was joking."

Elena smiled back at him, and reached up to kiss him. He responded, wrapping his arms around her waist.

Elena carefully removed the vervain dart that she had brought from her house last night and held it in shaking fingers.

Not breaking the kiss, she jabbed it into his side. She remembered doing something similar to Stefan all those months ago, she wondered when her life had come to this, hurting the people she loved.

Her heart broke as he backed away, staring at her in shock.

The tears that had been threatening to fall all morning finally cascaded down her cheeks as she watched him. He crumpled to the floor and Elena ran to his side.

"I'm so sorry." She whispered.

He stared up at her, his eyes full of confusion and betrayal.

She pressed her hands against his face, trying to reassure him.

"I can't let you get hurt." She murmured.

He was struggling with consciousness but he fought the darkness and stared at her.

"Elena?" He whispered.

Her face crumpled as she kissed him gently on the lips.

"I love you Damon." She said when she pulled away.

She looked into his eyes.

"I love you so much, and I'm so sorry."

She quickly got up and Damon felt himself slipping into oblivion as he heard the front door close behind her.

* * *

Elena drove slowly towards the graveyard, her vision blurred by tears, Damon's hurt expression haunted her as she tried to calm her sobs. She wondered if he would ever forgive her… If he had a chance.

Elena parked her car and cut the engine, staring out at the graveyard with a awful feeling of foreboding. She took a deep breath and wiped her eyes before getting out and locking the doors behind her.

Looking around she didn't see anyone, but she knew that he was here. She walked cautiously toward the graves and stopped when she felt a slight breeze behind her. She turned around and wasn't surprised to come face to face with Alecus. A charming smile plastered across his face, a smile that made her sick to her core.

"Very good Miss Gilbert, you did what I asked." He said with approval.

Elena nodded stiffly.

"I'm here, what do you want?"

"I want to play Elena." Alecus replied with an evil grin.

Elena shivered.

"Since Katherine managed to stop Bonnie, I had to take matters into my own hands." He said calmly.

Elena wondered where Katherine was; maybe she was nearby… She could help. Elena cursed herself for not thinking of her sooner, Alecus smiled as if reading her mind.

"Katherine will not save you this time." He said with an air of finality.

"What are you going to do?" She asked quietly.

"You'll see."

* * *

Stefan drove into Mystic Falls, wondering nervously how he would be received. It hadn't been hard to secure him self a flight and within twenty-four hours here he was, ready to explain him self and ease his guilt.

He drove toward the boarding house, he wasn't sure if Damon had stayed after he had left but it seemed like the logical place to go. He pulled up in the driveway, noting Damon's blue Camaro. So he was here then, Stefan knew that his brother was going to be angry with him, he just hoped Damon would hold off staking him for long enough for him to explain everything.

He readied himself for an attack as he opened the door. He frowned, something was off; he could sense it. He walked inside and instantly recognized the cloying scent of vervain. Frowning, he looked around his eyes falling on Damon's unconscious form.

Stefan rushed towards his brother and shook him, he stirred slightly. Relieved to find him alive, but worried by his predicament, Stefan raced to the fridge and grabbed some blood bags. He poured the blood down Damon's throat and color began to return to his cheeks.

Damon's eyes fluttered open and he looked at Stefan in confusion. He struggled to sit up but Stefan pushed him down.

"You're not strong enough." He said

Damon wondered if he was hallucinating. But quickly brushed the idea of, he doubted his brain would waste a perfectly good hallucination on Stefan.

So that meant that his brother really had had the nerve to show his face in this town after what he'd done.

Feeling stronger, Damon batted his hands away and sat up.

'What the hell are you doing here?" He spat out.

Stefan sighed.

"What the hell are you doing unconscious, dosed with vervain?" He shot back.

Damon rolled his eyes at the deflection but then frowned.

"Elena." He murmured, confusion taking over his features.

"Elena did this? Damon, what did you do to her?" Stefan asked.

Damon stared at him angrily.

"You're asking me what I did to her? You're the one who nearly drained her and then abandoned her Stefan. You don't get to play morality police with me anymore."

Stefan sighed, he deserved that.

"So why did she drug you then?" He asked.

"Damon shook his head.

"I don't know… She said something about not wanting me to get hurt."

Realization flickered across both brother's faces and they stared at each other in horror.

"Oh no." Damon groaned.

**Nearing the end of this story i think :( there will only be a couple more chapters... but it has been a great ride! **


	18. Chapter 18

**Chapter 18**

* * *

Damon dialed Caroline's number as he raced out of the boarding house door with Stefan hot on his heels. The effects of the vervain were wearing off, thanks to the blood. Caroline picked up on the third ring.

"Damon?"

He cut to the chase.

"Elena's gone walkabouts, I need you to help look for her." He said quickly. "Be careful, I think she might be pulling another martyr act." He added as an after thought.

He hung up, not bothering to listen to her garbled reply.

"Damon, Damon wait!" Stefan called as he struggled to keep up with his brother.

Damon glanced back at him in exasperation.

"Look Stefan, I don't know what you're doing here, and right now I don't give a shit. So either help me find Elena or get the fuck out of town." He bit out angrily.

Stefan nodded.

"I'll take the woods, you take the cemetery." He said.

Damon gave him a small nod and look of gratitude before pushing his vampire speed to the limit as he headed towards the cemetery.

He was trying desperately to push the panic out of his chest. He couldn't let himself get emotional right now. He needed to keep calm and focused so he could find Elena. The all-consuming dread that he would be too late to save her life was eating him from the inside out.

He didn't understand why she would do this, he felt certain that she had gone to turn herself in to some dangerous vampire. There was no other explanation for her drugging him…

He honestly didn't think he would be able to face another day of his eternal life if he didn't have Elena Gilbert by his side. The very thought of losing her was so painful that his chest constricted so tightly he thought he might pass out.

He reached the graveyard and opened his senses, listening for any indicator that she was here. His impeccable hearing picked up a dark, menacing laugh. He gravitated towards the sound and breathed a sigh of relief when he heard Elena's strong, healthy heartbeat.

He moved so fast that he blurred as he bowled into the older vampire. Alecus had been laughing down at a very scared yet defiant looking Elena. The two men flew back and smashed into a tree knocking it to the ground. Elena screamed.

Alecus, having overcome his surprise at the sudden attack, pushed Damon off him with ease. He had nearly five centuries on him; it wasn't an even fight.

Elena gasped in shock and horror as she saw Damon fall uncomfortably on the ground. How had he gotten here? She had drugged him to stop exactly this from happening.

"Damon, no." She whispered.

He glanced over at her, his eyes automatically grazing her body for any injuries, satisfied that she was relatively unhurt he turned his attention back to Alecus just as he picked him off the ground and threw him at least a hundred yards.

"Arrogant boy. You cant beat me, child. And you can't have the girl." Alecus said.

Damon groaned in pain and struggled to get up. Alecus bent over him, sneering. Damon used as much force as he could muster and punched him in the face, satisfied when he heard the crack of his nose breaking. Alecus's eyes darkened. He tore a branch from a tree and snapped it, creating a makeshift stake. Damon struggled to move, but Alecus was strong, he held him down and stabbed him in the chest, missing his heart by millimeters.

Elena, having seen Alecus stab Damon in the chest, but unaware of the lucky miss, fell to her knees.

"NO! Damon." She screamed

Alecus's cruel laughter rang out over the misty tombstones.

Elena's sobs echoed around them as she crawled towards Damon.

"Please no, please, please, please no."

She reached his still figure and grabbed onto him, shaking him as hard as she could. His head lolled to the side, his eyes closed.

Elena's mind was screaming at her to do something but she was frozen in horror as the realization that Damon was dead washed over her. Dead. He couldn't be dead, he was her one and only, he was her constant. Damon wasn't supposed to die, Damon was never supposed to die, he was the eternal loveable, pain in the ass, vampire who she revered with her whole heart. He couldn't be gone, he just couldn't.

Elena's cheeks were wet with tears as she stroked his face. Her breath came in short gasps as she tried not to break down, her chest was heaving with the effort.

She vaguely heard Alecus in the background, saying something, but she ignored him. She pressed her lips gently to Damon's.

"I love you so much. Please, please wake up." She whispered desperately.

She clutched herself to him, holding his body against hers, never wanting to let go.

"Wake up, wake up, wake up, wake up." She chanted quietly. Her eyes focused on his still face.

He heart leapt to unreachable heights as his eyes flickered open. His bright blue orbs gazed up at her, full of love and pain.

"Damon!" She sobbed.

"Oh thank god." She kissed ever inch of his face.

He winced.

"You need to pull it out Elena." He groaned quietly.

She nodded and taking a deep breath, pulled the stake from his chest. Damon roared in pain, gritting his teeth and clutching at grass. Elena wrapped her arms around him.

"I love you, I love you, I love you." She whispered as her new mantra. Damon gave her a weak smile.

"I love you too kitten."

"Is he going to be ok?" A breathless voice called out, breaking them out of their bubble.

Damon and Elena looked behind them, shocked to see Caroline struggling to fight Alecus.

"Caroline no! He's too strong." Elena cried out. But Caroline ignored her.

Alecus shoved the young vampire back against a tree. Caroline gasped in pain as a small branch skewered her abdomen.

Before anyone could blink Alecus was standing beside Damon and Elena, staring down at them with thinly veiled curiosity.

He gave a sadistic smile.

"So touching, so epically romantic, so… tragic." He said with a smirk.

Damon clutched at Elena's hand trying to push himself upright.

Alecus laughed then, a trickling, sickly, sticky laugh that bounced off the headstones, eerily echoing around them.

"I'm glad you didn't die, Salvatore. For witnessing this will surely be worse than dying a thousand times over."

He reached down and Damon watched as if in slow motion as his hands circled Elena's head.

Damon grabbed Elena's waist, trying to pull her out of harms way but Alecus was too quick. There was a sickening, reverberating crack; a sound that would haunt Damon for the rest of his life.

Elena landed on top of him, her neck twisted at an unnatural angle; her eyes were open, unseeing, her face frozen in shock.

Damon didn't know what happened next, he didn't care. Nothing mattered, nothing. He was completely still, unable to move, unable to accept that this had happened. He lay unmoving with her body draped across his.

She was gone, really and truly gone.

His chest constricted in agony and he clutched the broken girl tightly to his chest. Holding her there as if he could somehow fix her, glue her back together with his touch. He was reeling from how quickly their rolls had been reversed. She had been right here, telling him she loved him. Only a few seconds ago she was right here, living, breathing.

His hands found her face, cupping it, he stared into her blank eyes, memorizing their deep chocolate warmth. He felt tears roll down his cheeks and he let them fall, unchecked. He didn't care, he didn't care about anything but _her. _And she was gone, forever.

"Elena." He whispered to himself.

"Elena, Elena, Elena."

He curled himself around her body, moaning into her unmoving chest. His heart was breaking into millions of pieces, turning to sand. This couldn't be happening; she couldn't be gone. She was _everything. _

He heard footsteps approach and he cradled Elena in her arms, making himself an unbreakable shield around her lifeless body, he turned to face the intruder with a murderous growl.

Elena's eyes met his, only they weren't Elena's, they were Katherine's. She approached slowly and Damon glanced behind her to see that Alecus was lying unmoving not far away. Katherine took a tentative step towards him, holding out her hand, palm facing up.

"Damon…?" She said softly.

Damon shrank away from her, holding Elena tighter, his eyes were wild when he looked at the girl who so cruelly matched the late love of his life.

"Just go." He whispered.

He didn't watch to see if she obeyed, he bent his aching head and rested it against Elena's. Slight traces of warmth were still lingering to her body and he imagined for a moment that she was just sleeping; she was going to wake up any second and give him one of her welcoming smiles. She didn't stir, and neither did Damon. He stayed as unmoving as his lover.

Damon snarled in rage when someone touched her hand, he pulled her closer to him, away from whoever it was.

There was no recognition in his eyes as he looked at the sobbing blonde in front of him. She was merely a threat. He bared his fangs at her and she backed off, leaving him alone to clutch at the broken body of the girl he loved.

* * *

**Sorry for the cliffhanger... Have to keep you hooked somehow :P **


	19. Chapter 19

**Chapter 19**

* * *

Alaric, Caroline, Katherine and Stefan stood around awkwardly in the cemetery. Damon still hadn't moved, he refused to let go of Elena's body and he grew violent if anyone approached.

Stefan didn't understand the extent of Damon's devastation and was confused by the way his was reacting. He knew that he cared about Elena, but he was acting as though he cared about her a lot more than he had let on… Stefan felt tears prick at the back of his eyes as he surveyed Elena. He may have been drawn towards her because of his love for Katherine but she was a sweet girl, and in a way he had grown to love her. Seeing her dead was painful. Not to mention his shock at seeing Katherine here, he would have to question her about that later…

Caroline was sobbing uncontrollably; she had lost her two best friends in the space of a couple days. She and Bonnie hadn't always seen eye to eye but Elena had always been there for her. Through everything, Elena had been someone she knew she could count on, she trusted her with her life. She thought of the way Elena had jumped in front of the stake meant for her, and felt a fresh bout of sobs rack her chest.

Alaric awkwardly put his arm around Caroline, trying to comfort her. He couldn't quite wrap his head around everything that had happened. They had found out that this Alecus guy was trying to stop the curse from being broken, and that he'd been threatening Bonnie, which explained her mysterious disappearance and run in with the sheriff, whom he assumed had been under compulsion. But now, staring at Damon holding Elena's lifeless body in his arms he was surprised by the amount of sorrow that he felt. He didn't really know Elena, she was a sweetheart, that much had been obvious from their brief conversations, but his sorrow was mainly for Damon, Jenna and Jeremy. He wasn't sure they could take losing another family member. They had both been through so much already; he was dreading the look on Jenna's face when she found out. And Damon…Alaric wasn't quite certain of the status of his and Elena's relationship, but he knew that they had been close and it was pretty obvious that Damon had been in love with her, whether she had returned those feelings or not. He had never seen a man look so crushed, Damon looked as though he had just lost everything, the only thing that seemed to being anchoring him to reality was the body in his arms.

Katherine was confused, scratch that she was extremely confused. Shouldn't she be dead right now? When she had approached Damon earlier it had been to show him that she was still alive so surely Elena was too. But when she had seen the angle of her neck it was pretty obvious that she was dead, and if she and Damon had shared blood recently he would be waiting for her to wake up, not mourning her death. Had their connection been broken somehow? Katherine had learned from various witches that if Elena became a vampire she would not die, so that seemed like the only logical explanation, but no one had given her blood… While she was mostly absorbed in thoughts of herself and her apparently miraculous survival, there was a part of her that was sad about the loss of Elena. Even though she had tried to kill her regularly, she had grown fond of her human twin. All the emotions that she had made her feel had strengthened the bond between the two of them and Katherine felt bereft now that she was gone.

Alaric sighed, they had to leave the graveyard, dispose of Alecus's body and take Elena to the morgue. He tentatively moved toward Damon.

"Damon." He said quietly.

He didn't answer, he wasn't crying, he wasn't breathing, he wasn't seeing. He was reliving Elena's every smile, every kiss, every whispered 'I love you'.

"Damon, we have to go." Alaric carefully touched his shoulder and Damon's head snapped up.

He fixed the teacher with a murderous look.

"Then go." He croaked; his voice was sore and cracked.

A cry of pain made both of them look around, Katherine was on the round, clutching at her head. Damon stared at her confused, only just noticing that she wasn't dead…

"How?" He murmured

Alaric met his worried gaze just as Elena's eyes opened. She didn't move and Damon didn't notice that she was awake. He was looking at Ric in confusion.

Elena felt Damon wrapped around her body, there was a terrible pain in her head and everything was muddled, she felt a bit weird, like she was coming down with something. She shifted slightly and Damon tensed around her.

Damon felt a slight movement from the dead girl he had spent the last few hours mourning. His eyes flew to hers and finding them open, he choked on the pain in his chest. He was sure that he was hallucinating.

"Damon? What's going on?" She asked.

Damon stared at her wordlessly. He was completely and utterly confused. He didn't dare let himself believe that she was alive, when he realized that she was in fact still lying dead in his arms, it would be like reliving those fatal moments all over again.

"Damon?" She whispered, looking at his face in concern.

Damon glanced up at the teacher, wanting to know if he saw it too or if his mind had finally snapped. His heart leapt to all sorts of heights when he saw Alaric's wondrous expression. _He saw it too._

"Elena?" He gasped.

He felt a few stray tears slip down his cheeks and his hands flew to her face. His hands cupped her face and he stared into her eyes, unable to believe what he was seeing, he had been so sure that he would never look into those eyes again.

"Elena." He breathed and rained her face with kisses. She gasped in surprise but wrapped her arms around him, responding eagerly when his lips met hers.

He heard the deafening silence where her heartbeat should have been and realized that Alecus must have given her blood. The curse couldn't be lifted with vampire blood… Elena was a vampire; they had all of eternity, all of eternity to be together. While he was sad at her forced transition: he wished that she had had the chance to make the decision on her own but he was undeniably and unbelievably euphoric that she was living, one way or another. Damon felt giddy from happiness.

Alaric looked away awkwardly and watched as Stefan sat down next to Katherine and stroked her hair out of her face. Huh, maybe everyone would get a chance at a happy ending.

**Did you really think I'd kill Elena? I'm a sucker for happy endings :)**


	20. Epilogue

**Epilogue**

* * *

"Hey!" Damon grumbled, as Elena changed the radio station.

She giggled and gave him a cheeky look.

"Oh lighten up grumpy pants, we're going to a wedding."

"Yes, while listening to bad music." Damon teased her and she faked a hurt expression.

They both laughed and Damon took one hand off the wheel and slung it over her shoulders. She relaxed into his side and murmured along to the words of the song playing.

"_Like an apple on the tree_

_I was hiding out of reach_

_But you picked me_

_Like a shell lying on the beach_

_Just another pretty piece_

_I was difficult to see_

_But you picked me_

_Yeah you picked me."_

Damon kissed the top of her head, and Elena scolded him for not watching the road. He smirked.

"Sweetheart we both know that if I crashed this car we would both walk away."

She rolled her eyes and changed the subject.

"I can't believe Jenna and Ric are getting married. Its so cute." Elena said with a far away look in her eyes.

Damon looked at her, his teasing smirk gone, replaced by genuine softness and love.

"We should get married someday." He said.

Elena glanced at him, a grin lighting up her face.

"Damon Salvatore, is that a proposal?"

He laughed.

"No, when I propose it will be a whole lot more romantic than this… But it could be a warning of a proposal." He winked.

She kissed him on the cheek.

"Well as a warning for the answer… I say yes, ten times over, yes."

Damon kissed her on the lips and they both gasped as the car swerved violently. Then dissolved into laughter as the driver in a passing car yelled out of his window.

"Get a room!"

Elena giggled.

* * *

They pulled up at the Salvatore boarding house and Elena looked around.

"God, it feels like we haven't been here in forever." She said softly.

Damon looked up at the big house.

"Well it's been what? Two years? That's a pretty long time."

"Not when you have eternity." Elena grinned at him.

They had moved out of mystic falls as soon as Elena had graduated high school. The whole not aging thing would have become an issue and Elena wanted to see the world so they had gone traveling. They had spent a year in Europe, and then they had settled in Georgia where they now lived.

Katherine and Stefan moved around, they came back to mystic falls regularly and Katherine claimed to be Elena's long lost twin when she showed up in town. Stefan and Katherine were firmly together, and although they had their rough patches things were going pretty smoothly.

Damon walked to the door and was surprised to find it unlocked.

"Kat and Stef must already be here." He said as he walked inside.

Elena followed him and hugged Katherine when she appeared in front of them.

"Hey Kat, I've missed you."

Katherine though surprised by the display of affection, smiled warmly; clearly touched.

Stefan appeared next to her and hugged Elena and clapped Damon on the shoulder. Damon rolled his eyes and hugged his brother.

"Caroline and Matt are coming by later. Caroline wants to get ready with you before the wedding." Stefan said to Elena.

She clapped her hands in excitement and Damon rolled his eyes fondly.

"Is Matt still human?" Damon asked no one in particular.

The small party moved to the sitting room and Damon poured himself and Elena a scotch. He handed Elena's to her and knocked his back in one.

Stefan shrugged.

"From what I could tell on the phone, yeah he is!"

"I wonder when she'll change him." Elena said quietly.

"If she does change him." Katherine chimed in.

Elena frowned.

"Well it would really suck if she had to watch him get all old and wrinkly, then he'd die and she'd be miserable." She said with a sigh.

A loud knocking on the door interrupted her thoughts.

Damon went to answer and grinned when he saw Jeremy.

"Hey Jer, welcome to the party." He pulled the younger man into a hug, slightly surprising both of them, Jeremy raised his eyebrows and Damon shrugged.

"Your sister's rubbing off on me." He said with a mock groan of annoyance.

"Well it's good to see you too man."

Jeremy grinned and went to say hi to the others.

* * *

Elena wiped away the tears that slipped down her cheeks as she watched Alaric and Jenna say 'I do.'

Damon put his arm around her and brushed his thumb under her eyes. He leaned down and kissed her on the nose, she gave him a watery smile.

After the ceremony had finished, Elena and Damon went to say hi to everyone. Jenna had been let in on the family secret, and she hugged both of them slightly nervously.

Mrs. Lockwood gasped when she saw them.

"Elena, you haven't changed a bit!" She cooed, as she kissed Damon on both cheeks.

Elena glanced at him nervously before saying.

"You're too kind, I've put on like 10lbs." She lied with a laugh, trying to throw her off that particular scent.

Damon snorted.

"It's true, she has." He said with a smirk.

Elena smacked him on the arm.

Mrs. Lockwood looked at them fondly.

"Oh you two are just adorable. Maybe it will be your wedding next huh?"

Damon and Elena just smiled, and continued to catch up with the residents of mystic falls.

* * *

Back at the boarding house they went up to Damon's room and Elena flopped down on the bed, looking around at the familiar room.

"We have so many memories in here." She murmured.

"Now we can make some more." He said with a seductive smirk.

Elena grinned and pulled him down on top of her. She dissolved into his arms, savoring his familiar taste as he kissed her. She was so happy, they had all of eternity to do just this.

"I love you Elena." Damon whispered.

"I love you too." She answered.

Finis

**OMG! It's really over :( this story has been so much fun to write and i hope you guys enjoyed reading it! I am going to start another Delena centered fic pretty soon so be sure to check it out! **

**Love Serena x**


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